Office moves cost £3,000/min in IT downtime. Plan 6 months ahead: assess connectivity, secure data, migrate VoIP, coordinate vendors. Avoid 21-day recovery. Expert support included.
Moving offices costs UK businesses £3,000 per minute in IT disruption—and recovery takes 21 days on average. Proper planning 6 months ahead, strategic connectivity assessment, secure data migration, and expert VoIP relocation eliminate these costs entirely. This guide covers the complete IT relocation checklist, timeline, costs, and how to maintain 99.9% uptime during your move. Direct expert support: 0333 733 8050.
Your new office looks perfect. Your team is excited. Your board approved the budget. Then moving day arrives—and your internet doesn't work. Emails pile up. Video calls drop. Your phone system vanishes. Customers can't reach you. Revenue stops.
This scenario plays out in UK offices weekly. IT disruptions cost UK businesses an average of £3,000 per minute during working hours—which means a 2-hour outage costs £360,000. Worse, full recovery takes an average of 21 days, extending damage far beyond moving day itself.
The root cause isn't bad luck. It's poor IT planning. Most businesses treat IT relocation as an afterthought—something IT handles while the facilities team manages the physical move. Result: connectivity installed days late, phone systems that don't route correctly, data loss, and security vulnerabilities that cybercriminals exploit immediately.
The solution? Strategic planning starting 6 months before your move, coordinated with expert partners who understand UK connectivity infrastructure, modern VoIP systems, and data security during transitions. When planned correctly, your move strengthens—not disrupts—your IT infrastructure.
Lead times matter. UK telecommunications providers require 6-8 weeks to install dedicated connectivity at new locations. ISPs often need 2-3 weeks for standard broadband. Network equipment installation takes 2-3 days. Data centre migrations require weeks of planning. Vendor coordination across 5-10 providers demands months of calendaring.
Start late, and you're forced to:
A six-month timeline prevents all of this. It gives you space to negotiate better connectivity options, schedule professional installation, conduct thorough security audits, test systems before go-live, and train your team on new infrastructure.
Your new office is only as productive as your internet connection. Without reliable connectivity, you have a building full of disconnected devices—and a revenue-generating machine switched off.
Before your lease is signed, answer these:
Start this assessment immediately after your new location is confirmed. Contact 2-3 ISPs and request availability reports. If fibre isn't available, push back on the location—it's a fundamental limitation.
Place connectivity orders 8-12 weeks before your move. This gives providers time to:
Request installation dates 2 weeks before your team moves—this allows 2 weeks for testing and troubleshooting before staff arrive.
Office moves create unique data security risks:
Layer 1: Pre-Move Backup & Testing (4 weeks before move)
Layer 2: Cloud-Based Backup During Transition (moving week)
Layer 3: Post-Move Verification (first week after move)
This three-layer approach means if a hard drive fails during moving day, you can restore from cloud backup within hours—not days or weeks.
Traditional phone lines die the moment you disconnect them. VoIP systems, by contrast, are location-independent—meaning you can maintain your business phone numbers regardless of where you are.
With a cloud-based VoIP phone system, you maintain continuity:
Systems older than 5 years or traditional TDM (Time Division Multiplexing) phone systems should be replaced during your move—not transported. These outdated technologies have shrinking vendor support, parts availability challenges, and won't scale with your business. A modern cloud VoIP system costs £3-8 per user per month and eliminates these risks entirely.
3-4 months before move: Evaluate your existing phone system and plan replacement if necessary. Request quotes from VoIP providers.
2 months before move: Order new VoIP system and hardware. Schedule staff training on new system.
1 month before move: Pilot VoIP system with small team; resolve any issues with CRM integration, call routing, or voicemail forwarding.
Moving week: Switch phone systems at your new location; existing phones continue routing through cloud system seamlessly.
Modern offices require sophisticated network infrastructure: wired Ethernet for speed-critical workstations, wireless WiFi for mobility, secure VLANs for guest access, and managed switches for priority traffic.
Key rule: Install network cabling and access points 2-3 days before your team arrives. Cable runs take time. Wireless access points need positioning, mounting, and testing. Rushing this guarantees poor WiFi signal, frequent disconnections, and frustrated staff on day one.
Office moves tempt businesses to hold onto old equipment—but moving faulty hardware is a mistake.
For each device, ask:
Secure disposal is essential. Hard drives contain confidential business data. Use professional IT recycling services that provide certified data destruction—meeting GDPR and UK data protection requirements.
9-6 Months Before Move
4 Months Before Move
2 Months Before Move
1 Month Before Move
Moving Week
First Week After Move
Typical IT relocation costs:
Downtime cost if it goes wrong: £3,000 per minute (multiply by 120 minutes for a 2-hour outage = £360,000).
A £15,000 investment preventing even a 1-hour outage pays for itself 12x over. Most businesses move only once every 5-10 years—making this an essential, not optional, investment.
Unlike faceless tech providers who manage moves through automated systems and call centre queues, AMVIA provides direct access to relocation specialists who understand UK infrastructure intimately.
Call 0333 733 8050 and speak immediately with an IT relocation engineer—not a ticket system or callback queue. When connectivity issues arise or network configuration needs adjustment during your move, you get real-time expert guidance, not hours of waiting.
As an independent connectivity partner, we're not locked into a single ISP or equipment vendor. This gives you genuine flexibility: whether you need budget-conscious broadband or premium dedicated leased lines with 99.99% SLA guarantees, we design solutions matched to your needs—not our margin targets.
We coordinate across all your technology vendors:
One point of contact. One accountable team. One number (0333 733 8050) when things go wrong.
Office relocations don't have to be risky. With proper planning starting 6 months ahead, expert coordination across connectivity, security, and communications, and human-first support from specialists who know UK infrastructure intimately, your move can actually improve your IT capabilities.
Your next step: If you're planning an office move in the next 6-12 months, contact AMVIA now for a free IT relocation assessment. We'll identify connectivity options at your new location, evaluate your current systems for replacement opportunities, and design a detailed migration plan that eliminates downtime risk.
Call 0333 733 8050 today to speak with an IT relocation specialist. We'll assess your timeline, budget, and technical requirements—then deliver a comprehensive plan with no surprises and guaranteed results.
Or contact us online for a detailed IT relocation audit. We provide specific recommendations, cost breakdowns, and implementation timelines tailored to your business and location.
Why AMVIA? Because your office move shouldn't cost you £3,000 per minute in downtime. It should be a moment to strengthen your infrastructure, improve your team's connectivity, and position your business for growth. Let us show you how.
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