6 Tech-related Tasks to Ensure a Seamless Office Move

The second quarter of this year saw construction on 2.2 million square-feet of new office space in Canada. Whether it’s to move up, scale down, or just relocate, there will inevitably come a time when every business changes locations.

When planning and executing a move, it’s easy to let some of the small yet important tasks fall through the cracks. We’ve got you covered with six tech-related tasks to remember before you get set for that big move:

Change your billing address. It’s important to notify Canada Revenue Agency of your move, but don’t forget to also set up a forwarding address with Canada Post. Better yet, to avoid the chance of being late on a payment or missing an important invoice during a move, switch to online billing. Then, as long as you have Internet access – whether it’s in Toronto or Timbuktu – your financial correspondence won’t be interrupted.

Transfer your phone number. Check with your landline telephone provider ahead of time about transferring your existing office numbers to your new location to avoid disruption. Prior to disconnecting the physical phones, forward calls to smartphones or VoIP lines, or set up automated messages – and ensure all key personnel have smartphones so they’re reachable via phone and e-mail during regular business hours. And since you can take your mobile devices with you, simply notify your wireless provider of your new address.

Back up your important data. Be prepared for the worst and avoid any potential data loss during the move by backing up important digital files, folders and programs. You can back up files on hard drives, or by using the savvier method of storing it in the cloud using services like Bell Data Protect. The added benefit with the latter is that authorized personnel can still access the data remotely whether or not systems in the office are back up and running.

Set up an appointment with your Internet provider. Don’t wait until the last minute to call your Internet provider to arrange a service call. Setting this up in advance will help reduce the amount of potential downtime during your move. On a related note, make sure you have IT personnel on hand at the same time to get each computer, account and server back up and running once the Internet connection is regained.

Get remote devices and capabilities for key employees. In this day and age, moving day doesn’t have to equate to 24 hours of downtime for a business. As long as employees have laptops, tablets, smartphones, ample wireless plans and/or turbo hubs and sticks, they should be able to work just as seamlessly from home or the coffee shop down the street as they would back in the office.

Re-evaluate office equipment. There’s no better time to upgrade your office equipment then when you have to unplug, set up and reload anyway. Use this opportunity to re-evaluate office equipment and services and the make necessary upgrades. Also consider donating old equipment to a local school or housing community that might be able to use it, or dispose of gear where it can be safely recycled.

It’s also a great time to consider cloud-based services like Office 365 that can replace some of your existing on-site software and functions, and help your employees collaborate better and increase productivity during and after your move.

The bottom line
With the use of some great technology tools, your office can be back up and running in no time. So seamlessly, in fact, that clients and customers may be none the wiser that you had a service interruption at all.

When was the last time you moved offices? What’s your best piece of advice? Tell us in the comments below.