7 Must-do when relocating your office!

One scenario that any office manager will inevitably hate is the logistical nightmare of relocating to another facility. Whether you’re a growing business running out of space or looking to move to cheaper accommodation, making sure everything goes smoothly when the big day rolls around is just as stressful for a company as it is in personal life.

And between packing boxes and fixing issues like moving our communications and services, it gets people thinking about another critical – and often overlooked – factor to consider when moving offices. Specifically, how can we be sure that our digital data is safe in the process?

Check out our services here at Commercial Relocation and make sure you are able to move to your new office properly.

1. Making sure your data is safe

An office move is a great time for data to get corrupted, lost, or end up in the wrong hands. Whether it’s from careless workers dropping or breaking hard drives, or hardware just disappearing, there are several risks that need to be considered when planning a relocation.

2. Protect your hardware

Damage to data storage hardware is a common problem, and some types of equipment will be more vulnerable than others to things like physical impacts, changes in temperature or humidity. But regardless of whether you are transporting PC hard drives, servers or magnetic tapes, careful packaging and handling is essential if you want to avoid having to go to a data recovery specialist to recover lost information.

Before embarking on a relocation, you should also check your equipment for potential problems. For example, you should check that your hard drives are not making unusual noises or having error indicators such as warning lights. These signs can indicate that a device is beginning to degrade, and therefore will be more fragile and vulnerable to shocks and scrapes.

3. Maintain the custody chain

When data storage devices are passed from one person to another during the moving process there is a great opportunity for items to be lost or stolen. To minimise the risk of this happening, it is important to maintain a clear chain of custody during the process so that it is easy to identify who is responsible for the data at any given time.

The best way to do this is to ensure that each item is sealed after being packed securely. This seal should be checked for tampering at each stage of the move, and broken only when the storage device is safe in the new location. In the rare event of a data leak, the person in charge of the move will be able to provide clear answers about what happened – something that can be vital for insurance or regulatory purposes.

4. Document everything

Similarly, it’s important that everything is documented – and we mean everything, down to which cables connect where. Especially if we are moving large servers with complex cabling, any changes in their build when they were installed in the old office could cause problems later.

Every PC, hard drive, USB stick, and network management hardware should be clearly labeled, and any changes noted. Ideally, there should be a physical copy of these records, in addition to a digital one.

5. Don’t bypass physical security

It is also vital that you do not bypass the physical security of your facilities – old and new – when making a move. We know all too well how chaotic this stage can be for companies, with people moving in and out of offices at all hours while trying to move with as little disruption as possible. The result of this is that any opportunist could take advantage to enter and take equipment.

That is why it is vital that physical security policies are not neglected during the moving process. It can be tempting to just leave the doors open to allow workers to easily get in and out, but if you have hardware with sensitive data stored in plain sight, this could be very expensive.

6. Know the recovery processes

In the unfortunate event that something goes wrong and your hardware ends up damaged or lost, it is important to be prepared for this eventuality. To start with, you need to make sure that your backup and disaster recovery plans are up to date and have been recently tested. If you wait until you have a problem to find weaknesses in them, it will be too late.

Strategic planning for an office or corporate relocation can make the difference between a costly relocation due to downtime and a smooth transition with few lost hours of work.

If you are planning to move your office or relocate your business, the following tips can help you get the move done on time and within budget.

Plan your office move as soon as possible. Business relocations are often planned six months in advance, and large office moves can take up to a year of planning.

Keep all of these things in mind and you can have, if not a totally stress-free move, then one where you can rest easy and have the certainty that your most important data will still be there when you remove the bubble wrap on your new home.

Hire a professional company specialising in office removals

You can make a relocation on your own, and with proper planning, it could probably all work out just fine. The problem, however, is experience. Long distance relocation companies have done this work many times before you. In fact, some do it once or twice a week, so they already know what problems to anticipate and can help you plan accordingly.

Hiring a removal company is a lot cheaper than you might think, especially when you consider the amount of time you save and the hassle you avoid when you hire a professional.

Consider hiring an office removal company that has the experience and tools to make your move as convenient and easy as possible. A moving company can help you move anywhere and they also have the right staff and warehousing services to help you make the move.

Here at Commercial Relocations, our team is available 24/7 to provide the professional and personal assistance you need throughout the removal process. Remember that the best moving company always uses best practices, professional staff, and state-of-the-art equipment so you can trust that your property is in good hands wherever you go.