Office move IT checklist for London SMEs

An office move IT checklist for London SMEs starts with the internet connection, not the desks, because it's the item with the longest lead time and the one you can't work without. Get the line ordered and the new space surveyed before the fit-out is finished, and move day becomes a planned weekend rather than a week of lost work.

Order the internet connection first

Business fibre and leased lines can take weeks or months to install, depending on the building and what's already in the street. Ask the landlord what's already in the riser, get quotes as soon as the lease is agreed, and don't assume the old contract simply moves with you.

Plan a backup too. A second line from a different provider, or a 4G or 5G router that takes over automatically, keeps card payments and cloud apps running when the main line goes down. And if the new line is late, that backup is how you open on day one.

Survey the new space before the fit-out ends

Cabling is cheap to run while walls and ceilings are open, and expensive once they're finished. Walk the space with whoever is doing the fit-out and decide where the comms cupboard goes, whether it has power and ventilation, how many network points each desk and meeting room needs, and where the Wi-Fi access points will be mounted.

This is the survey we do for office networks across London and the South East. We look at the building, the equipment you're bringing and how the team works, then give you a written scope and a fixed price. The survey has a fixed fee, and it comes off the job if you go ahead.

Use the move to fix the network design

Most small offices have one flat network where laptops, the card terminal, the printer and visitors' phones all sit together. A move is the cheapest moment to separate them. Staff, guest and payment traffic should each have their own network, with a firewall between them, and I've written about separating guest Wi-Fi from the office network in more detail.

If you're keeping the old office or adding a second site, plan how the two will connect now rather than after the move. The multi-site office network piece covers the options.

Decide what happens to the server in the cupboard

If a file server or an old application server lives in the current office, don't just put it in the van. Moving it means downtime, a new cupboard to keep cool and the same single point of failure in a new postcode. For many small businesses the move is the natural point to move off the server under the desk and into the cloud or a properly managed host. Our infrastructure and cloud team can map what it does and prove the replacement before the old box is switched off.

Don't forget everything else with a plug

Phones, printers, door entry, alarm panels and IP CCTV all need a network point, an address and often a firewall rule. List every device, who supplies it and who configures it. Give each one a named owner, or it tends to be missed.

Check security before and after the move

Moves are messy. Old laptops go missing, a contractor gets the Wi-Fi password, and remote access gets opened up "just for the weekend". Once you've settled in, change shared passwords, remove access for anyone who has left, and check which ports are open on the new router. If you'd like it done properly, a security audit covers firewall rules, Wi-Fi security, segmentation and remote access, with a plain-English report and a retest after the fixes.

Quick Comparison

• As soon as the lease is agreed: order the main line and a backup, and ask the landlord what's in the riser.
• During the fit-out: survey the space, agree cabling, the comms cupboard, power and access-point positions.
• Four weeks before: finalise the network design, decide the server's future and list every device with a plug.
• Move weekend: label kit, install and test the network, and check every desk, printer and card terminal before Monday.
• First fortnight after: change shared passwords, remove old access, review firewall rules and fix anything missed.

Who should run it?

If you're a handful of people moving into a serviced office with Wi-Fi included, you can probably work through this office move IT checklist yourself. If you're fitting out your own space, taking card payments or running anything on a server, bring in a network engineer at the survey stage rather than the week before. The cabling decisions made during the fit-out are the ones you'll live with for the length of the lease.

If you have a move coming up, send us the new address, your rough move date and how many people and devices the office needs to support. We'll book a survey and give you a fixed price for the whole job. Talk to Eight Mile about your office move.