The Office-Move IT Checklist: Everything Working by Monday Morning
TL;DR: The move's IT calendar is built backwards: line applications and the cabling project at least 6–8 weeks out (provisioning is the longest lead item), a verified backup in move week, a "network first, then servers, then clients" power-up order on move day, and afterwards the updates to static-IP-bound access and address records.
When an office move is planned, desks, boxes and the moving company get weeks of discussion; the internet line usually crosses someone's mind a week before the date. Yet provisioning a line at the new address is the longest procurement item of the whole move — and every day without it is a day of full payroll and no work. This guide turns "everything working when everyone sits down on Monday" into a calendar.
6–8 Weeks Out: Survey and Applications
- Infrastructure survey at the new office: establish which providers reach the building with which technology — by pre-application query and on-site check, not guesswork. Capacity is sized for the new office's headcount, not today's.
- Apply for the line IMMEDIATELY: provisioning can take weeks depending on the area; apply the day the lease is signed. If possible, activate and test the line before the move. If redundancy is on the table, decide on the second line now — a move is the cheapest moment to go dual-WAN, because the installation crew is coming anyway.
- The cabling project: data outlet counts and routes are drawn from the desk plan, scheduled to run BEFORE paint and furniture. Pulling cable after the walls close means doing the same job at three times the price.
- The technical room plan: the cabinet's location is planned together with power feed, earthing, ventilation and a physical lock. UPS capacity is recalculated for the new load.
- PBX and number porting: confirm with the provider that existing numbers can move to the new address; losing the number means losing customers.
2–4 Weeks Out: Build and Rehearse
- Cabling completes; outlets are verified with a tester and labelled — the "which outlet, which port" map is worth gold on move day.
- The network cabinet is built: firewall, switches and access points configured for the new layout. Rather than transplanting the old office's tangle, build the network right in the new office — the hidden opportunity of every move.
- If the line is active, test it with real traffic; if the static IP changes with the new line, list everything that reaches you from outside: VPN endpoints, camera access, integrations, DNS records.
- The moving order and owners are written down: which device powers off when, travels in which vehicle, and who brings it up.
The Final Week: Backup, Labels, Insurance
- A verified backup: servers and critical devices are backed up and the backup verified with a restore test. Move day is the day of highest physical-damage risk; moving a server without a backup is gambling with the safe.
- Labelling: every device, cable and port is labelled; the cabinet is photographed. The photo of the dismantled layout is the fastest rebuild manual.
- Transport and insurance: servers and network equipment travel separately from the boxes — preferably in your own vehicle or with a specialist crew; read the electronics coverage of the transport insurance.
Move Day: the Power-Up Order
Installation follows the dependency order — try it backwards and you wander device to device in a "nothing works" fog:
| Order | Step | Verification |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Power: UPS, outlet layout, earthing | Voltage and UPS self-test |
| 2 | Internet + firewall | Wired speed/access test |
| 3 | Switches and Wi-Fi | Test from outlet and wireless |
| 4 | Server and NAS | Services, shares, backup jobs |
| 5 | PBX and printers | Inbound-outbound call, test print |
| 6 | Client computers | Sign-in, shared folders, email, business app |
Close with a five-minute end-to-end test: one sales invoice, one email, one phone call, one printout, one remote-access session. If those five work, Monday morning is safe.
After the Move: the Forgotten Tail
- Cancel the old office's lines and subscriptions (the forgotten line that keeps billing is the classic leak).
- If the static IP changed: update VPN definitions, external access, DNS records and any integrator- or bank-registered IP restrictions.
- Address updates: beyond official records and invoices — the Google Business Profile, the website and email signatures; customers should not look for you at the old address.
- Keep a fast support channel open for two weeks of "move aftershocks"; early complaints usually trace to a single unlabelled cable.
Moving with Yamanlar Bilişim
In relocation projects we own the IT arm of the calendar end to end: the new-office survey and line applications, the cabling project and its execution, the cabinet build, and move-day dismantling, installation and power-up tests. The goal is the same in every project: when the team walks in on Monday morning — internet up, phones ringing, server running.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
How far ahead should the IT plan start?
The day the lease is confirmed — in practice 6–8 weeks out. The calendar is set by its slowest items, line provisioning and cabling; neither can be compressed, only started early.
What can we do to have internet from day one at the new office?
The soundest route is activating and testing the line before the move. If provisioning will not make it, a corporate 4G/5G router bridges as the temporary primary — and stays in the system afterwards as the permanent backup line; the investment is not wasted.
Should we move the server in our own vehicle?
Preferably yes — or with a crew experienced in electronics transport. Disks and other sensitive parts suffer from vibration; a verified pre-move backup is the precondition in every case. A move also puts the "move it or replace it" question on the table for very old servers.
Will our phone numbers change at the new address?
In most scenarios numbers can be ported; what matters is confirming early and planning the PBX side accordingly. Offices on IP-based PBXs move with far less friction — if a PBX decision is pending anyway, the move is the right moment for the transition.
How long will we actually be down on move day?
With the right plan, the target is downtime equal to the physical-move hours alone: shut down Friday evening, build over the weekend, work on Monday. If the line and cabling are ready in advance, that target holds routinely; if not, your downtime is set by the provisioning crew's calendar, not by your plan.
Author
Serdar YAMAN
Yamanlar Bilişim Expert
Writes content on IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, and digital transformation at Yamanlar Bilişim. Get in touch for any questions.
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