Office Move IT Considerations: The Complete Technology Checklist

Why IT Planning is the Critical Path in Any Office Move

Most office moves are derailed not by the physical logistics — the furniture vans, the packing crates, the carpet layers — but by IT. Broadband circuits and leased lines require 30–90 days' lead time depending on the provider and technology. Phone number porting takes weeks. Server migrations need careful sequencing to avoid data loss. And yet IT is frequently left until the final month before a move date, which is why so many businesses arrive at a new office on day one to find they have no internet, no phones and no shared drives.

This guide sets out what to plan, when to plan it and what questions to ask your IT provider or managed service partner. Use it as a working checklist alongside your facilities and HR move planning.

Pre-Move: 12 Weeks Before Relocation

Assess the New Site's Connectivity Options

Your first IT task, ideally before contracts are signed on the new premises, is to understand what connectivity is available at the new address:

• Is a leased line (Ethernet) available to the building? If so, what speeds and at what cost?
• Is full-fibre (FTTP) available, or is the site still served by FTTC or ADSL?
• Are there existing dark fibre or ISP-provided circuits in the building that can be assumed?
• What is the mobile signal strength from the major networks? This matters for 4G failover and staff devices.

Ordering a leased line typically takes 60–90 days from order to go-live. FTTP can be faster at 30–60 days, but depends on Openreach capacity in the area. If you leave connectivity ordering until six weeks before the move, you risk arriving with no fixed internet connection.

Audit Your Existing IT Infrastructure

Before anything is unplugged, catalogue what you have:

• All physical servers — location, role, age, virtualisation status
• All network switches, patch panels and structured cabling
• All desk phones, DECT handsets and conference phones
• All printers, scanners and multifunction devices
• Power requirements — UPS units, PDUs, rack power
• Specialist equipment with long lead times to replace (firewalls, certain telecoms hardware)

Plan Your New Network Layout

Work with your IT provider or structured cabling contractor to produce a network layout for the new office. This should cover:

• Number of data points per desk and meeting room
• Location of server room or IT cupboard with adequate power and cooling
• Wireless access point positions for full coverage (avoid relying on a single router)
• Structured cabling schedule — how many CAT6 or CAT6A runs are needed
• Patch panel and switch requirements

Structured cabling in a new office costs approximately £80–£150 per data point installed, depending on complexity. Getting this right at move-in is far cheaper than retrofitting later.

Pre-Move: 8 Weeks Before Relocation

Order Connectivity

Place all connectivity orders as soon as possible. Your options will depend on what is available at the new site:

• Leased line: Order 8–12 weeks before required go-live date. Specify the bandwidth you need now and consider headroom for growth.
• FTTP: Order 4–8 weeks before. If Openreach has not yet surveyed the building, add additional time.
• Temporary broadband: Consider ordering a temporary FTTC or 4G bonded connection that can be activated before the leased line is ready, to ensure day-one internet access.

Plan Your Telephony Migration

If you have an on-premise phone system (PBX), an office move is often the right moment to migrate to a hosted VoIP or Microsoft Teams Calling solution instead of physically relocating the hardware. Consider:

• Is your existing PBX under licence or support contract that can be surrendered?
• Do your staff already use Microsoft Teams? If so, Microsoft Teams Calling with Direct Routing eliminates the need for a physical phone system entirely.
• Phone number porting to a VoIP provider typically takes 2–4 weeks. Initiate this process at least 6 weeks before move date to have buffer.

Assess Cloud Migration Opportunities

Physical servers in a new office add cost, risk and complexity. An office move is a natural forcing function to assess which workloads can move to the cloud:

• File storage — Microsoft SharePoint / OneDrive eliminates the need for a file server
• Email — if still on-premise Exchange, migrate to Microsoft 365 before the move
• Line-of-business applications — check whether cloud-hosted versions are available
• Backup — ensure your backup provider is cloud-based and does not rely on physical tape or local NAS that needs relocating

Pre-Move: 4 Weeks Before Relocation

Confirm All Orders and Test Connectivity

• Chase all connectivity orders and confirm expected go-live dates in writing
• Arrange for an engineer visit to the new site to test line quality before move day
• Configure and test your new router, firewall and switches at the new premises before staff arrive

Prepare Endpoints for the Move

• Ensure all laptops and desktops are fully backed up to cloud storage before being physically moved
• Label all equipment clearly with user names and desk locations in the new office
• Prepare a hardware refresh list — any equipment that is not worth moving should be retired and replaced rather than relocated

Move Day: IT Priorities

On the day of the physical move, the IT sequence matters:

1. Infrastructure first — get the network switch, patch panel and router operational before any user equipment arrives
2. Test internet connectivity before unpacking computers
3. Connect and test file servers or confirm cloud access is working
4. Set up phones and test inbound/outbound calls
5. Connect user computers last, once the shared infrastructure is confirmed working
6. Have a mobile hotspot or 4G router available as emergency failover if connectivity is not ready

Post-Move: First Two Weeks

• Monitor internet performance — newly installed circuits occasionally have teething problems. Log any drops or slowdowns and escalate to your ISP promptly, as there is usually a care and maintenance period.
• Audit all equipment — confirm everything arrived, nothing was damaged in transit, all peripherals are accounted for
• Update your MPLS/WAN topology diagrams and network documentation to reflect the new office
• Update your business address with all suppliers, regulators and on your website and Google Business Profile
• Confirm that your disaster recovery and backup procedures are functioning correctly from the new location

Common IT Mistakes During Office Moves

• Leaving connectivity until too late: The single most common cause of day-one failure. Order 12 weeks out.
• Assuming existing phone numbers transfer automatically: They do not. Porting must be actively managed.
• Moving old servers rather than migrating to cloud: If the hardware is more than four years old, moving it is rarely worth the risk.
• No tested backup before the move: Equipment can be damaged in transit. Verify all data is backed up before anything is disconnected.
• Inadequate wireless planning: A single Wi-Fi router cannot reliably cover a medium-sized office. Plan access point positions in advance.