community it webinar - planning for an office move
TRANSCRIPT
Planning for an Office Move
Community IT Innovators Webinar Series
September 15, 2016
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About Community IT
Advancing mission through the effective
use of technology.
• Invested Work exclusively with nonprofit organizations, serving over 900 since 1993.
• Strategic Help our clients make IT decisions that support mission.
• Collaborative Team of over 30 staff who empower you to make informed IT choices.
• 6 months out or more – Cleaning up • 3 months out – Vendors and staff• 1 month out – Planning your new
network• 1 week out – Who is moving what?• Day of – What can go wrong
Ideal Timeline for an Office Move
• Make your new LAN room neat and clean
• Let your IT vendor know about the move
• Think about what you want to take and leave behind
6+ months – Cleaning up
• Minimize your IT footprint
• Don’t move old junk to new office
• Do cleanup projects with some leeway
• Don’t complicate a move with other projects
• However, some upgrades should be done
6+ months – Cleaning up
• Location of network drops
• Location of server room, network switches and panel– Dedicated power outlets/high voltage outlets? – Servers off the ground?– Will your IT Vendor have room to work in the server
room?
• Special equipment for conference room A/V
• WiFi coverage?
6+ months – Build out
Ideal Timeline for an Office Move• 6 months out or more – Cleaning up • 3 months out – Vendors and staff• 1 month out – Planning your new
network• 1 week out – Who is moving what?• Day of – What can go wrong
• Time to start thinking about Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
• Verizon and Comcast aren’t always the only game in town
• Keeping the same ISP can really simplify things
• Consider redundant connection
3 months out – Selecting vendors
Verizon or Comcast has wires into the building from the Street
Your ISP will run lines up to the floor you’re on, and terminate them in the network closet by the elevators
Your wiring contractor will wire your patch panel to the wall jacks inside your office.
But no one wants to run wires from the network closet into your office.
?
3 months out – the last 10 feet
Whenever possible, think of a plan B or C for each part of the move. Nothing goes exactly as planned, and you never know what part that will be.
3 months out – Contingency
• Good time to get stakeholders involved
• Make sure no conferences, board meetings etc. conflicting
• Meet with management, IT, and vendors to coordinate efforts and schedules
3 months out – Staff
Ideal Timeline for an Office Move• 6 months out or more – Cleaning up • 3 months out – Vendors and staff• 1 month out – Planning your new
network• 1 week out – Who is moving what?• Day of – What can go wrong
• Wall jacks labeled, sufficient and patch panel works
• Plan to clean up new server room
• Is the existing rack big enough for your equipment?
• Order lockable cage for networking equipment
1 month out – New Network
• Plan to recycle old equipment
• Plan for IT storage space – get shelves or a separate closet so your new server room doesn’t get cluttered
• Recommend mounting switches right up against patch panels and wiring with 6 in or 1 ft cables
1 month out – General
• A lot of short patch cables…if possible, get bootless cables
• Order a grab bag of 5, 10 and 15 foot ethernet cables
• Spare power strips/surge protectors
• Bubble wrap? Depends on your movers
• Velcro strips for tying down and keeping neat
1 month out – Amazon Order
• Some will be involved; others will be annoyed at the interruption
• Set time expectations low
• Plan the move for a Friday
• Cloud is your friend
1 month out – Staff expectations
• Allow staff to voice move concerns at a staff meeting
• Create “pre-move checklist” for staff
• Have a “Move Coordinator” check off that things were packed.
• Let staff leave early when done (bonus!)
1 month out – Staff best practices
Ideal Timeline for an Office Move• 6 months out or more – Cleaning up • 3 months out – Vendors and staff• 1 month out – Planning your new
network• 1 week out – Who is moving what?• Day of – What can go wrong
1 week out – Who is moving what?• Will the IT vendor or the moving
company pack up and move the servers?
• Last in, First out
• Who is packing up staff computers?
• Staff should have a solid timeframe established, and expectations set for the move at this point
1 week out – Who is moving what?• Is the ISP confirmed for the new date?
• Are the copiers moving?
• Do you have to use a service elevator?
• Do you need keys to access the new building?
• What time will network be unavailable?
• Desks need to go in before computers
• Modular furniture needs to be built before computers
• Desks should be setup at least 6 in from the wall
• OR place powerstrips and Ethernet cords before furniture
1 week out – Who is moving what?
Ideal Timeline for an Office Move• 6 months out or more – Cleaning up • 3 months out – Vendors and staff• 1 month out – Planning your new
network• 1 week out – Who is moving what?• Day of – What can go wrong
Day of – What could go wrong?• Perfect move is a unicorn
• ISP not working
• Physical Server Damage
• In-House mail or websites
• “Other” Networked Devices
Conclusions• ISP – We can workaround everything else, but if
there is no internet, your new office is dead to the world.
• Staff – They are the ones who matter, so make them happy. Also, buy pizza for anyone who works late on the move.
• Vendors – get them involved as early as possible.
Upcoming Webinar
Identifying IT RisksThursday October 20
4:00 – 5:00 PM ESTEva Townsend & Nura Aboki
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