How would you go about a major office move in the heart of London? There are so many things to think about, and the ‘to-do’ list is never-ending. The one major worry during most transitions to new premises is the break in business activity. This is largely down to the IT infrastructure being closed off effectively in one location and set up without a hitch in the new premises.
But it’s not just the ‘turning it off and on again’ scenario that is at risk. Client and company data are at the forefront of minds when it comes to IT. The risk of losing or compromising that data is so much higher during a relocation – so the task of moving to new premises is certainly not one that should be taken likely. Professionals need to be called in!
Kew Media, London
Richard Allinson, Office Manager of Kew Media recently took charge of their office move first-hand, and while he had a list of tasks to do which were endless, the question of IT and all that goes with it was taken completely out of his hands.
Kew Media is an International Media Distribution company which, up until November last year, were based in Regent Street, London. Over the weekend of 1-2 December, our team at CETSAT joined Kew Media to assist with the move to their new premises in Shaftsbury Avenue which needed to be complete and ready for business on Monday 3rd December.
Richard’s role was to oversee the successful move of the company over to their new premises, which, of course, also included all the IT infrastructure such as servers, PCs, screens and telecommunications. Whilst it sounds easy enough to just unplug a PC, box it up and take it to its new destination, moving an entire server is a different matter, and as Richard stated “It’s not a task for a Layman”, which is why he looked to CETSAT to help with the IT transition for his company.
Pack it up and ship it out
There is a lot to consider when moving an entire IT suite and telecommunications system, not only at the time of the move but in the months leading up. It’s not simply a case of ‘pack it up and ship it out’!
In order to make the transition seamless for Kew Media, it was vital that preparations began months before the move date. The CETSAT team first visited the site six months before the proposed move to look at the new site to establish the current set up and the changes required to accommodate Kew Media coming in.
Such a visit would look at the following elements;
- The current contact carriers, internet service providers (ISPs) and tech vendors
- An inventory of the current equipment in place; an office move is a good time to consider updating your systems and getting rid of old, dilapidated hardware
- The connectivity at the site. Consideration should be given as to whether current equipment will fit with any established IT that might be at the new premises
- Are there any building restrictions that will cause difficulties for the project?
- Establish data backup
- Determine if there is ample cabling
- Decide where the new server will go
- Put together a planned return of any leased equipment to suppliers.
From this point, a timetable was put together to move the office over a weekend so that there would be no loss in business productivity. Kew staff would be able to work right up until 4 pm on Friday and able to come back into the new office on Monday morning.
In terms of preparation from staff, they were responsible for their desks and asked to tidy up their workspace, but that was it. The CETSAT team took care of the rest.
Out with the Old and in with the New
At the outgoing premises in Regent Street, there was just one full rack of servers in the server room. This move was the perfect opportunity to add a further two racks which were delivered and installed at the new premises in Shaftsbury Avenue. The full rack of servers was shut down, delivered and re-installed into the new office along with an additional two new racks.
There was also a different set up at the new premises in terms of staff’s PC screens. Out went the old-fashioned stands that currently housed the computer screens in favour of fancy arms that attach to the back of the desk and gives the user a much better ‘screen experience’. This was all taken care of, and Richard didn’t even need to think about the disposal of the stands.
The move was also the opportune time to carry out any updates to the software, which in itself can be time consuming and disruptive to business.
From the horse’s mouth
“Having the CETSAT team take over meant that I could concentrate on the other aspects of the move and leave the IT completely to the team. If anyone asked me about IT, I would happily send them in the direction of one of the team.
All we needed to do was tidy up our own desk space, and CETSAT did the rest. The staff were able to work right up until 4 pm on Friday and start again on Monday morning.
The move was planned to start on Friday evening and due to finish on Sunday, but in fact, we were all finished on Saturday night, but it was good to have the extra day just in case we needed it. Staff were back in on Monday morning ready to log in and start work, and the CETSAT guys were around for two mornings to help if there were any problems.
This was my first experience of moving premises and having the team from CETSAT meant that it was a smooth transition and not half as daunting as I thought it would be. I would 100% recommend using a professional company such as CETSAT for an office move like ours.”
If you’re considering an office move and would like to know how we can make it a smooth transition, please get in touch, and we would be happy to answer your questions.
