Demolish Your Budget And Waste Hours Of Your Time…And How To Avoid Them
If you’d rather have a root canal than move your office, you’re not alone…
The No. 1 lament from anyone who’s ever gone through a stressful office move is “Sheesh – I never would have guessed THAT would happen!”…followed closely by
“Yikes! We have to wait how long for our cable to get hooked up?!?”
A smooth move requires careful planning. And a critical part of your planning process is knowing what pitfalls to avoid. Here are three things to NOT do when moving your office:
Moving Blunder #1: Letting your staff try to move your computer network just to save a few bucks
Your computer network is a complex, delicate and mission-critical system. You wouldn’t let your dentist’s receptionist pull a tooth or fill a cavity for you, would you? Allowing untrained staff members to move your computer network almost always leads to unexpected glitches, frustration (on your part, and theirs…) and added expense. Even professional movers can mess things up – they simply are not specialists in computer networks…and neither is your staff.
Moving Blunder #2: Hiring the WRONG IT firm to move your network
There are several warning signs that you may be dealing with an inexperienced or downright incompetent IT firm to move your network. If you don’t see these in the IT firm you’re considering to run your office move, then run away:
- A systematic, well-organized approach to moving your network
- References from other clients whose networks they’ve moved
- Proof of liability insurance
- A service-level guarantee limiting your potential downtime
- A policy in place that will apply the charges for conducting a site survey against the total cost of the move if you choose them
If they don’t INSIST on visiting your current location as well as your new one to conduct a detailed site survey, beware. And NEVER hire anyone who wants to quote moving your network over the phone.
Moving Blunder #3: Not giving your electricity, phone, Internet and cable vendors sufficient advance notice of your move
Waiting ’til the last minute to map out a moving plan for your computer network virtually guarantees you’ll be dealing with emergency rush fees and band-aid fixes to make things work…
An estimated 80% of unexpected communications blackouts and cost overruns during a network move can be avoided simply by planning your voice, data and electrical transfers ahead of time. Internet and telephone connections require as much as six weeks’ notice to be installed, tested and ready the day you move in. And if you are building a new office, leaving it up to the builder to decide how many power outlets and network and phone connections you get may leave you woefully shorthanded. Consult with your IT provider during the design phase to ensure that you have what you need before the drywall goes up.
When it comes to moving your office, it pays to remember that Murphy’s Law prevails (in spades).
Your best defense against the painfully unexpected is to invest the time it takes to map out your game plan before the fun begins. It’s easy and all too tempting to underestimate how much time it takes to create an effective plan. Yet it’s the one thing that controls whether your move is a success – or disaster.
The key to a stress-free move is to plan well in advance. Avoiding
pitfalls with careful planning will ensure that your calls and connections don’t get crossed – or worse yet, lost – in the transition.
Hire Us For Your Next Office Move And Get A $500 Office Move Toolkit...FREE!
If you - or someone you know - is planning an office move, contact us for a FREE Office Move Toolkit. You'll receive:
- "The Office Relocation Planner": This step-by-step guide for relocating your office - and keeping your data and systems intact - could save you untold hours of downtime and frustration.
- FREE Office Move Checklist to make sure you don't miss the critical action items, dates and deadlines you'll need for a stress-free move.
- FREE Site Survey and Network Move Plan. At no charge, we'll map out your move to help you cut costs and minimize downtime.
To Receive Your $500 Office Move Toolkit - FREE- Call Us Today At (678) 523 - 5599