The almost universal reaction I have received to the prospect of moving our business to new premises has been abject pity! Due to growth and a desire to create an excellent working environment, over the first weekend in February GTS Solutions moved its 25 staff, its full IT infrastructure and environment, and all associated paraphernalia from a single office suite on the first floor of the it’s parent companies office block, a few hundred yards down the road to a self contained three storey building. A managed service remained in operation until close of business on the Friday, and everything was in place, desks, servers, phones, plants pictures, coffee cups….the lot at 9am the following Monday. It was as if we had always been in the new building. Everyone seems amazed! Quite why I’m not sure. Exercises such as this are of a purely logistical nature – if it goes wrong, it’s purely down to poor planning. Ask the Army – if they expected every battle to be a disaster because the tanks hadn’t arrived, then I suspect we would all be talking a different language. Here are some golden rules: · From a stakeholders group – ridiculously early · Create lots of lists – just as ridiculously early · Put a process plan in place – ‘as above’ The scoping of the task which these items above cover is probably the early point where people go wrong. Your early plans will get amended, but if you’ve got everything sited early on, and you understand the dependencies between items on the list (e.g. you got put your communications terminations in until you’ve built your server room etc), then you can cater for unforeseen circumstances as they arise, and things don’t get forgotten. The things that are often underestimated are:- · External lead times · The frustrations of legalities · Suppliers/contractors don’t co-operate The lead time issues are massive. Communications, voice, ISDN 30, ADSL: etc etc are the lifeblood of nearly all modern businesses. As are new connections for electricity and gas and water… - The open supplier market for the provision of these items is a myth compounded by regulatory efforts to ensure competition that allows the reconstituted former nationalised suppliers to hide even further behind myriad Chinese walls. To get connected takes ages. A good contact into your supplier at a level that can give reliable promises is essential. However long they say, they will take every minute of it. . The first thing on your plan should therefore be a set of connection dates. Build things like construction and refurbishment around it, not visa versa. Agreeing new leases or even freehold purchases are processes that will test the patience of Job. Don’t underestimate this. If you can get a license to enter, then so much the better. If you miss the squabbling of your now grown up family when they were toddlers fighting all the time, then put plumbers, painters, electricians, cabling people and carpet fitters onto your project at the same time. Alternatively you might allow each sufficient space to get their bit done, get their commitment to a tight project plan, and sanity might be retained. In terms of critical path, the best route is

1. Plan plan plan
2. Order well in advance all goods and services
3. Get physical possession
4. Terminate services
5. Build
6. Cable
7. Decorate
8. Carpet
9. Clean
10. Furnish
11. Install equipment
12. Put in the pretty bits
13. Occupy

The final advice is to ensure some key roles are fulfilled. Someone must administrate project – do the lists, circulate minutes, keep budgets and redraw project plans. This needs to be someone with an eye for detail, And with the time to devote to it. You need someone to lead the operation on a day to day basis. This person needs to be high energy, practical, and a good communicator, especially on the ground with trades people and engineers. Finally someone needs to lead. If you try to move and create a new environment agreed by committee, you’ll end up with a disaster on your hands. Someone has to make the calls, bully the process, and be there to stand up and be counted. And finally – remember the champagne for the first day. If you’ve got it right, it won’t have builders dust floating on the surface. There is no doubt that the move went so smoothly due to the knowledge, professionalism and expertise of the GTS team, without this level of commitment and competence the move could well have been a disaster. If you are considering or committed to moving premises and require help and support with your IT infrastructure and logistics why not get in contact with us via our website below, we could help to make your move as smooth as ours.

www.gts-solutions.co.uk