We hope the following tips — based on the corporate relocations we execute each and every day — will help you get your move on the right track. And let us know if we can help. For further information, please contact us.

1. To assure success, you need a moving plan. Involve not just your facilities managers, but also your IT and HR departments as well. As part of the overall plan, have a technology plan and an asset management plan.
   
   
   • Technology plan — What do you have? What do you need? Since most companies refresh their technology every 18 to 36 months, is this an opportunity to refresh, upgrade or expand your systems?
   • Asset management plan — Audit your existing assets. What's worth moving in the area of technology and furnishings? What should be replaced or upgraded? Can you install what you're moving in the new facility or are there obsolescence and incompatibility issues?
   • Determine who will be on the relocation team. What can you handle in house? What might you need to or want to outsource?
   
   
   
2. You want to achieve a synchronized team effort. If you decide to outsource cabling, any systems upgrades, breakdowns and reconnects, systems and contract furniture, as well as traditional moving services, ask the vendors you interview what other vendors they've worked with successfully on other moves.
   
   
   • Be sure to ask for references.
   • Have potential outsource partners ever worked on moves of the same scope as yours?
   • Determine and involve your outsource partners early in the process to have the maximum benefit of their expertise — from planning to execution.
   
   
   
3. Lay out the new location according to the technology and asset management plans.
   
   
   • Do a CAD layout for office systems and office furniture.
   • Determine where outlets will go for phone/fax, electric, etc.
   • Work closely with your cabling and contract furniture outsource partner — even at this preliminary point — to assure workability and coordination.
   
   
   
4. If you're refreshing or upgrading technology and/or ordering new furniture systems, be sure of delivery lead times, so you can order at an appropriate time for move date delivery.
   
   
5. In scheduling the move dates, be sure the move is "do-able" in the timeframe allowed. You should leave a window of recovery for testing and troubleshooting systems after reconnection at the new location. For every 100 stations, you should allow five service technicians.
   
   
6. Coordinate the technology moving process with the people moving process. On the day of the move you will want to phase out the less critical functions earlier in the day and the more critical functions and technology later in the day.
   
   
7. If you're moving into a newly constructed facility or a total new fit-up, estimate your cabling needs, then double that figure for future expansion. In the long run, this step will save money since it's less costly to run cable prior to the ceiling grid installation and other finishing construction.
   
   
8. If you're refitting existing space, determine the ability to reuse existing cabling. Retest and recertify what is usable. You can add cabling, but it is more expensive than installing it in raw space.
   
   
9. Check to see if your state requires a low-voltage permit to be issued prior to cable installation. If so, make sure your cable vendor is licensed to pull such a permit. Without a permit, your job can and will be shut down.
   
   
10. Make sure the communication cable is properly installed. It must be the correct distance from fluorescent lighting in order to avoid network problems. This is a pesky and common problem that can be hard to troubleshoot if you're not aware of it.
    
    
11. Make sure that all jacks are modular, with future portability and expansion in mind.
    
    
12. Protect your information as well as your computer hardware.
    
    
    • Back up all systems prior to disconnecting them at the old facility. This should include regular corporate backups plus employee backups of individual files.
    • Ask your mover what precautions they take in moving computer equipment. To avoid damage, dust and loss of peripherals, this equipment should NEVER be moved in moving pads or cardboard cartons. There are new methods for keeping computer equipment safe, as well as for keeping each individual employee's equipment together and separate from that of others. These innovations are essential for fast hook-up and troubleshooting at the new facility.
    
    
    
13. Take an inventory of everything that will be moved. You can do this in-house or ask your moving vendor to do it for you. Do not include laptop computers in the move. Let individuals move their own laptops.
    
    
14. Ask what security precautions your moving vendor takes to minimize loss or theft during the move.
    
    
15. Testing your technology once it's reconnected at the new facility is a key step. It must be done quickly and thoroughly so that when people come to work on Monday morning they can turn on their computers and go right to work.
    
    
    • Depending upon how many terminals you're relocating, you may have to outsource at least this critical step, since you may not have enough in-house staff to dedicate to the process. You should have one IT professional available to test every 25 terminals you relocate.
    • Make sure your systems vendor has the sophisticated and up-to-date testing equipment required to diagnose and resolve any network issues.
    • Key personnel from each department should be on hand during the testing phase to assure that critical applications in their areas are functioning properly.
    
    
    
16. Have contingency plans ready to go. No matter how well you planned the move, you should assume that not everything will go according to plan.
    
    
    • Dates may change for a variety of reasons, including construction delays. Build in some flexibility and make sure that your outsource partners are also flexible.
    • In the event that equipment or furniture deliveries are early or must be held due to an unforeseen delay, make sure that you have a place to warehouse them securely. This would be a good service for your moving vendor to be able to provide.
    • Determine who will coordinate utility and telephone company service connection and disconnection, especially in the event of a delay. In any event, you should maintain dual connection until the testing and troubleshooting phase is complete at the new location.
    • Have an elevator technician available at each end of the move in case of a breakdown or need for special rigging.
    • Keep an eye on the weather. You should be able to mobilize the whole team — including outsource partners — to start early if you need to beat an incoming blizzard or other bad weather condition that could shut down a move.
    
    
    

Because technology relocation is an evolving expertise, please watch this site for updates and case studies, which will help you and your company avoid costly downtime — or worse — in these competitive times. We're happy to share our daily experience and success with our online community.