Story · Professional services · Relocation
The cross-town move, on time and under budget
A growing company outgrew its office and signed a lease across town. The move involved a carrier, an electrician, a cabling contractor, a phone vendor, a furniture company and a moving crew, none of whom had ever spoken to each other.
The situation
The owner had a move-in date and a lot of phone numbers. What she did not have was anyone whose job it was to make the six vendors agree on a sequence. The carrier quoted an install window that landed a week after the move. The electrician did not know where the rack was going because nobody had decided.
This is the normal state of an office move, and it is why moves are where businesses discover what their IT company is made of.
What we did
Zach took the calendar and Nate took the building. Within a week we had a single plan with dates: circuit ordered first, because it has the longest lead time; rack location and drop counts agreed with the electrician and cabling contractor; phone numbers scheduled to port on move-in morning, not before.
Every piece of network gear was configured and tested in our shop before it shipped, so installation at the new building was racking and plugging in, not troubleshooting. Nate was on site for the cutover. Zach was the one number every vendor called.
When the carrier's install slipped, we knew two weeks early and bridged the gap with a temporary connection, so move-in day did not move.
"Nobody notices a good move. People sit down, the phone rings, the printer prints. That is the whole review."
How the engineering team puts itWhat changed
ResolvedThe company opened in the new office on the planned day. Phones rang at the new address. The project came in under the budget we quoted, and the owner has since sent us two referrals.
The guide behind this story
ChecklistThe office IT relocation checklist
Everything that has to happen, in order, from the day the lease is signed to the first Monday in the new building. The list we use on every move.
Read the guideOrder the internet circuit the week the lease is signed. Carriers take six to twelve weeks. Nothing else on a move fails as often.
The relocation checklist Did you knowA backup that has never been restored is a hope, not a plan. Ask for the date of the last tested restore.
What to actually testQuestions people ask about this
How far ahead should we involve IT in an office move?
Ninety days is comfortable. Sixty is workable. Thirty means overnight shipping and overtime.
The full answerWho orders the internet at the new building?
We do, in your name, the week the lease is signed. Carriers take six to twelve weeks and the order is the most common thing to fall through the cracks.
The full answer
"Thanks for the hard work. I was kept informed with regular updates until the concern was resolved."
Jeff, insurance brokerageMore from the survey wall- A technician who knows your setup takes every request. Not a dispatcher, not a queue.
- Every closed ticket is surveyed and a partner reads every response.
- 99.5% of surveys come back positive.
- Family-owned since 2005. 21 years in the same corner of Wisconsin, not going anywhere.
"Thanks for the hard work. I was kept informed with regular updates until the concern was resolved."
Jeff, insurance brokerageMoving in the next year?
Start the conversation now, while the lease is still a draft.
Talk to a partnerTalk to a partner, not a sales script.
Tell us what is going on. A partner will call you back the same business day, look at what you have, and tell you honestly whether we are the right fit. No pricing pressure, no pitch deck.