Moving a business across town is a common occurrence that comes with plenty of planning and inconveniences. If moving across the state, there are many additional considerations, especially since it is inconvenient to move any of your office furniture equipment yourself. But, cross-state moves are growing in popularity thanks to policy changes in some states that are making normal operations difficult and expensive to carry out.
The most difficult things to move properly are networking equipment and servers. If you’ve ever had to reset a server, you know how difficult it is to locate a wire and figure out what wire goes where. It’s a task best saved for someone more familiar with the setup. When this equipment needs to be moved, each piece must be itemized and the condition of the equipment assessed to see if it will be suitable for the new location set up. That’s why most businesses leave this task to professional server movers.
Considerations for the New Location
Moving your existing equipment by decommissioning it and setting it up the same way may be possible depending on the layout of the new location, the condition of the equipment, and future needs of the business, but often some changes need to be made.
But, first, consider the reason for your move. If your move is due to policy issues with your local government, you may decide to quickly relocate with everything as is and deal with changing needs as you incur them.
Yet, if your business is growing or planning to grow in the near future, this is the right time to consider upgrades. Perhaps your server is old or outdated. If that is the case, you may choose to move the data to a new server and leave the old server behind. There is risk and a great deal of care involved with every server move; if it is ready for replacement it doesn’t make sense to bother moving it.
Another consideration is the layout of the new space. Wiring must be handled before any equipment is put in place so the available network will indicate what type of wiring and connections should be put in place to accommodate them.
The size of the space and distance between computers, phones, servers, and other equipment will indicate the networking equipment needed to prepare for equipment installation. This work should be performed before equipment is delivered to the new location.
Before you may call for a moving consultation, make yourself a list of the following:
- Model names and number of equipment, if known
- Budget available for the move
- Current company size, plan for future company size
- Square footage of the new area
- Needs for data – do you need more data storage
If you have an IT person who handles your equipment, that person will be helpful in planning the needs of the equipment and setup moving forward. He or she will know the condition of the equipment, whether there have been frequent problems, and whether the equipment should be suitable for a growing business.
With planning, your most valuable property – your data – can be carefully preserved and properly moved, and set up without much downtime. Be sure to work with a company that has a good reputation and a long track record of moving servers and networking equipment.
