Published on October 28th, 2020 | by Ali Dino
0The Business Relocation Impact of Covid-19
Thanks to Covid-19’s devastating impact on businesses and quality of life, businesses are leaving high tax states in droves, moving their facilities and staff to states like Texas and Florida. Add the lockdowns with zero percent federal interest rates and you have the perfect combination to facilitate the move. When businesses move, so do employees, furniture, equipment, and IT infrastructure. It’s a time when networking design is in demand and businesses need to quickly plan to set up at a new location with the least amount of downtime.
The IT Network
The IT Network consists of all the company computers, hardware, and connecting devices. F1 IT Support in Canberra reminds us that when all of this is connected, employees can more easily share information and the business can safely backup files on its own server or cloud-based service.. Having the network setup efficiently requires planning that considers the layout of the office space and future growth.
Talking more about this, not all office spaces are the same. So, one size does not fit all. You have to analyze what your work or business requires and then build your network accordingly.
As a small heads up, you’ll have to initially consider the different types of devices your business will be using and their interconnectivity.
Keep your office’s size in mind as you plan this out. Apart from this, you’ll have to see what sort of files the employees are sharing and what applications are required for this task.
A good layout will consider and tackle all problems while laying the foundation for future expansion. The other thing you’ll need to keep in mind is speed, maybe the applications are running smoothly for now, but that’ll start to slow down in the next 5 to 10 years as expansion takes place.
Network Design
The right time for network design is prior to occupying the new space. The IT specialist must plan how to connect all the routers, switches, servers, desktop computers, laptops, and printers within a given space considering the floor plan, walls, ceiling, and operational efficiency.
Planning network design is done in a similar fashion to planning building architecture; the IT specialist must draw a diagram indicating where the wiring will be installed so the engineers can install it accordingly. The installer needs to know what type of cabling is needed, how much, where it needs to go, the IP address setup, and the network security process.
The Process
- Don’t neglect the planning phase. Installing used equipment in a new office takes planning including upgrading of old equipment, backing up data, and making changes and additions to equipment and/or wiring if the old setup was insufficient or the company wants to prepare for growth. There must be a strategy to install each piece of equipment and have the right tools and supplies to ensure the entire network can function optimally. You’re already enduring the pains of disassembling, packing and setting up the equipment again, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to prepare yourself for future changes and the company expands. The performance of your system will change as you add more computers and hardware; make sure you plan for that added challenge.
- Someone properly trained for IT maintenance on your team or an outside professional should monitor performance regularly to address issues before they become bigger problems.
- Setting up proper network security is essential to safeguard sensitive information and prevent access by mobile or other IoT devices. Your business may wish to segment content so the most sensitive content, i.e. employee information is limited to management and/or human resources. Safeguarding information requires setting up password-protected areas that require authentication and can identify unauthorized access.
- As technology evolves, your system may still require upgrades. If you design your network for flexibility, you’ll have an easier time adding on new equipment gradually rather than have to perform an overhaul of your system because it cannot support the new technology.
Moving a business is a challenge under any circumstances. Relocating out of state and uprooting employees is an even bigger undertaking. No one was equipped to plan for the rippling effect of a pandemic; however, there are certainly professionals who are trained to help you plan out the execution of your data network. With proper planning, your staff’s downtime can be limited and your transition made much smoother.