You’ve moved and the Internet is slower than molasses! Now, what do you do?
Once move logistics start rolling, it is easy to underestimate the timing and coordination required between technical set-up needs and building and provider technologies (access, speed, integration, etc.). Before you assume the fetal position and whine softly in a corner during the ensuing riot, check out this 6-step Punchlist to run through as soon as you can.
6-step Punchlist for IT Relocation “Move-in”
Planning is the key to avoiding the headaches associated with technology that is hindering productivity. Having the right IT providers who will work in concert with one another is critical. Now that you are in your new space, here is a punch list of what you can do to get your business needs met ASAP. Remember to take care of short-term needs, but be sure that you continue the conversation once settled to focus on long-term needs as well.
1) Get to the right providers (who know your building) identified ASAP.
Most buildings and commercial spaces have a variety of available providers. The age and location will impact this a great deal. You may have gone with your current provider to keep existing contracts, but service can vary in their areas of service. Find out from your property manager, tenant representative, and other tenants as soon as you can – who is consistently providing data and telecommunications services? What workarounds (such as SD Wan or new access points) have been added to support bandwidth needs?
It can take days, weeks, or even months to get your internet infrastructure setup! So keep that in mind when planning. Here are some options with the typical time it takes to get them installed.
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- Real Fiber – takes 60-90 Days
- Hosted VoIP – takes 3-4 Week with Porting (2-3 Without Porting)
- SMB Internet (U-Verse, Coax, FIOS) – takes 1-2 Weeks
- 4G – takes 1-2 Weeks
- Satellite – takes 3-5 Business Days
2) Run through a SWAT-team reconnaissance on the internal infrastructure.
Many times, the person responsible for the move is not technical. But even when they are, folks often miss coordination between the use of space by the layout designer and consulting IT for availability and proximity to printing and wi-fi resources. Included here is to review wiring, punch downs, hubs set up and ensure they are tested correctly before anything else is done.
Another thing to consider is how people actually begin to work and move within the space. Considerations such as common areas, meeting rooms and external spaces (patios, outside areas), all impact set up and location of technology from server locations to printers.
3) Ensure the network is set up correctly with good business grade hardware and software.
Ideally, you’d have done an audit of all hardware, network and data/telecommunications needs prior to the move. Pre-move is actually a good time to upgrade aging out equipment, move services to the cloud and/or streamline unified communications.
But if you didn’t do that, do an audit of IT assets NOW. An IT provider such as partner, Higher State Technology, has IT automation software that can run a network diagnostic and provide an in-depth report on what you have age and status.
There is a separate but important consideration for BYOD (bring your own device). Knowing who has what including access from mobile and tablet devices is often overlooked. This can help you find the problems and troubleshoot short-term and long-term needs. This Network Detective service is provided at no charge to Tenavox clients.
4) Validate Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR) is in place.
Long term this would be part of your Business Continuity planning – but short term the focus is on backups of servers or other data and the protocol for recovery. This includes the proper precautions for security needs to ensure your environment is bulletproof Even when the company is primarily cloud-based, having a documented plan for what happens when the unexpected happens is critical.
5) Publish a hitlist for correct set up of user access, PCs, printers, scanners
This may have a ‘duh’ response at first, but if you had folks transport their equipment and set it up themselves (and even if you didn’t), you may be hit with a ton of helpdesk related questions once folks boot up.
Logging in, configuring access and correctly integrating printer/scanner and users can be where kinks need to be ironed out. It may be as simple as a publishing a ‘how to’ checklist or may require a trained set of eyes to just swiftly walk through the setup and troubleshoot gaps.
6) Evaluate where to avoid risk and ensure more security.
For larger companies or businesses with a lot of specialized equipment and data access needs, there are a lot of opportunities pre-move and considerations for security post-move (of both the care of physical equipment and protection of data). Whether on-premise or cloud or a hybrid, there may be more complex needs such as set-up and location domain, servers, secure rooms, etc.
If you have the team in place with bandwidth to troubleshoot the first days of move-in headache, then they can divide and conquer to find out how to best get ‘speed’ back into the day-to-day by working with providers. If not, augmenting with IT experts who have trusted relationships and experience can help you get their faster to address the post-move needs.
Want more resources? Here’s a great place to start.
For phone/VOIP here’s a great planning list you can use to troubleshoot.
About Higher State Technology
At HST, we focus on your technology, so you don’t have to. We are the Strategic IT Partner to SMBs in central Texas, and support every stage of business growth, from startups to mid-market organizations. We are Austin-based with local helpdesk, dispatch and certified technicians. Since 2004, we have taken a highly personal approach to managing business technology day-to-day for companies and/or providing advanced techs and systems administrators to support a company’s IT staff in times of need (such as changes in talent or special projects or expertise required).
Now, you can focus on your business, and we will provide Strategic IT Planning to help you build and manage the plan for making IT investments that match the growth of your business. As master technology integrators and innovators, our goal is to inspire the use of technology to improve the human experience through working systems that foster collaborative relationships and business success.
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