The Office Move
IT ChecklistNobody Gives You.

Everything here is cheaper to discover now than at any later point.

• Check what internet service is actually available at the exact suite, not the building and not the coverage map
• Ask the landlord where service enters the building and where the demarcation point sits
• Confirm whether the ceiling is a return-air plenum, which dictates cable type
• Find out what the landlord will let you penetrate, core or attach to
• Ask what the building provides versus what you install and remove at lease end
• Identify a realistic location for a server closet or rack, with power nearby

These are the items with lead times you do not control.

• Order the internet circuit and get a firm order commitment date in writing
• Order a second circuit or wireless backup if downtime is expensive for you
• Start the phone number porting paperwork with your current carrier
• Order any long-lead hardware: firewall, switches, access points, cameras, door controllers
• Book the certificate of insurance and after-hours building access with the property manager
• Reserve the freight elevator for both buildings if you need one

Cable goes in while the ceiling is open and before furniture arrives. This is the cheapest hour of the whole project.

• Finalize the floor plan and mark every desk, printer, camera, access point and door
• Pull cable to all of it in one pass, including drops you are not sure you need yet
• Terminate to a labeled patch panel and certify every run, with a report per run
• Install the rack, switches, firewall and UPS
• Place wireless access points against the real walls, not an even grid on paper
• Mount cameras and door hardware and confirm sight lines before the space fills up

By the end of this phase the new office should be a working office that happens to be empty.

• Turn up and test the internet circuit at the new address
• Configure VLANs, firewall policy and wireless, and test them under load
• Image and stage workstations so they are ready to plug in
• Confirm the number port date in writing and tell your team what will happen
• Update the address everywhere it appears: Google Business Profile, website, invoices, letterhead
• Decide what is being retired rather than moved, and plan secure disposal for anything holding data

Sequence matters more than speed here.

• Port numbers on a scheduled window, not on the busiest morning of the week
• Take a verified backup of every server before anything is unplugged
• Shut servers down on a planned sequence and bring them up against a checklist
• Physically move and reconnect, confirming each system as it comes back
• Test phones, internet, printing, shared drives and cameras before anyone arrives

Day one is when you find the things no plan catches.

• Have someone technical on site for the first working morning
• Expect the printer nobody mentioned and the application that hard-codes an old IP address
• Walk the building and check wireless in the corners people actually sit in
• Confirm every member of staff can log in, print and make a call
• Collect the as-builts, rack diagram and cable labels, and put them somewhere findable