Recently we’ve been contacted by a number of businesses who are either moving locations, or are opening up new branches. Summer time is one of the best times to move, given that a rainstorm certainly won’t cause as much havoc as a blizzard will in mid-winter!
While we’ve all gotten used to the fact that the Internet is pretty much everywhere, some don’t realize that the specific type of Internet connectivity they require may not be readily available at their new location.
If your business is about to move to a new location, here are a few quick guidelines that will help make your move (or new branch opening) work a lot more smoothly.
Internet Access – Depending on the type of connection your company needs, installation could take place in as little as 5 days… or as long as 90 days. Companies moving to a larger city will almost always have more available options that could also be installed in a much shorter timeframe. In fact, many buildings in metro areas already have some sort of available access for businesses moving in, even if it’s a shared service. Having something available even as a temporary solution is better than having nothing at all.
However, some more remote areas don’t have facilities readily available, especially here in New England. We’ve recently helped businesses open new locations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island who are headquartered in other parts of the country, and they expressed surprise at the lack of available options that could be installed quickly. It’s not that the services weren’t available, it was more that the timeframes were longer than they expected.
That’s why we always recommend that companies explore their options at least 90 days in advance of their planned move. This allows carriers like MegaNet the time to provision and install nearly any type of service that the company needs, and have it ready to go for their move timeframe. Some services such as DSL can often be installed in as little as 5 days – but services like Metro Ethernet can take up to 3 months or more if fiber’s not readily present to their new building. T1 Internet services can usually take around 3 weeks to install.
Phone Service – Phone services can often be installed much more quickly than Internet, based on the type of dialtone the customer needs. We recommend a 2 week lead time on phone services, especially if there’s a move involved and the company wishes to keep their existing phone numbers (if applicable).
Businesses who are looking for larger capacity services, such as a PRI or SIP trunk, should plan on a little longer lead time, especially if they would like the trunk to be delivered over their Internet connection. Larger trunks can usually take a bit longer to install, and it’s always better to be safe than sorry. Rushing installations can often lead to problems down the road, sometimes due to a quick wiring job, or a hardware install that wasn’t fully tested before going live.
Hosted and Cloud Services – On the good side, many cloud based services aren’t affected by a location move, since those services don’t rely on the same IP addresses coming in. However, if you run internal services such as a VPN or any type of remote access like a centralized database, you will most likely need to update any users who connect to you. New locations many times means new IP addresses for your local network, so client software that’s looking for data at your old IP addresses won’t be able to connect. If your company allows clients and vendors to access your local data and servers, be sure to have a move plan put together just for them; this way, any downtime for them will be minimal, and they’ll be aware of any changes well in advance.
In most instances a due date for installation that’s too early can be rescheduled for a later date closer to your move. This will help make sure you’re not paying for services when you don’t need them, and the early date lets everyone know that the proper wiring and facilities are already in place. Having the ability to push out an install is FAR more preferable than having a move date set in stone and your Internet not being installed for another 2-3 weeks afterwards.
When your business moves or opens a new location, there are a lot of logistics involved; if your employees are onsite and ready to go but there’s no Internet access or telephone service for them, you might as well be closed down. Be sure to research services for your new location at least 90 days in advance to make sure everything will be up and running for your first day.
Is your business considering moving, or changing it’s Internet access for better speed or performance? Are you perhaps thinking about changing providers to improve your uptime or costs? Download our free Internet Service Provider Change checklist to make sure your company is fully prepared to change your service or provider with ease and minimal service disruption.
