Moving Office? Here's How to Handle Your Technology Without the Headaches
It's mid-morning on moving day. The removalists are loading boxes, someone's made a start on disassembling desks, and you've just realised no one thought about what to do with the server, the printers, or the tangle of cables behind the reception desk. This is where an otherwise smooth move starts to go sideways.
Technology is the part of an office move that people plan for last and regret most. Devices get knocked around in transit, cables go missing, and the team shows up on Monday morning to find nothing works. For a busy professional services practice, even half a day of downtime costs real money - not counting the stress of figuring out what went wrong and who's responsible for fixing it.
The fix isn't complicated, but it does need to happen before moving day, not during it. Start with your data. Before anything is unplugged or packed, make sure everything is backed up - client files, documents, emails, financial records. A cloud backup handled through your IT support is the safest option, but confirm it's complete and recent before a single cable is touched. If something gets damaged in transit, you want to know your data is safe before you worry about the hardware.
Cables are the second thing people get wrong. Take a photo of every connection point before you unplug anything. It takes two minutes and saves hours of confusion at the other end. Label every cable with what it belongs to, bundle them with ties, and pack them with the device they belong to. Pack your network equipment - router, modem, ethernet cables - in a clearly labelled box that gets unpacked first. Getting the internet running is usually the top priority when the team arrives at the new location, and common network issues at a new site are worth knowing about before you start reconnecting everything.
When it comes to packing the hardware itself, original boxes are best if you've kept them. If not, wrap screens and devices in soft cloth or bubble wrap, pack them vertically, and mark the boxes as fragile. Tell the removalists directly - don't assume they'll treat a monitor the same way they treat a filing cabinet. Remove ink cartridges from printers before the move and pack them separately in sealed bags. Cartridges can leak in transit and ruin equipment that would otherwise have survived the journey fine. If the move has prompted you to replace any hardware, what to look for in second-hand business tech is worth reading before you commit to anything.
Once everything is set up at the new location, test it all before the business reopens. Turn on every device. Check that printers, phones, and computers connect properly. Run through the basics - email, shared drives, any practice management software your team relies on. If something is wrong, you want to find out while you still have time to call for help, not when a client is waiting. A move can also be a good moment to review office technology upgrades suited to professional services that make the new space work better from day one.
For practices with more than a handful of staff or anything beyond basic office equipment, it's worth having your IT support involved in the move plan from the start. An engineer who knows your setup can map out what needs to happen, be on site for the reconnection, and make sure everything is working before you hand the keys back to the removalists. It's a much better experience than trying to diagnose problems under pressure on day one.
If you want a second opinion on how well your technology is set up before or after a move, ITstuffed offers a 15-minute IT Fit Check with no pressure and no obligations. Book one here.