Setting up a new office's IT from scratch, in the right order

Decide the rules before buying anything

A blank slate is a rare chance to do things properly, so start with decisions rather than purchases. Choose the platform for email, files and calendars. Decide how devices will be managed and secured, whether people will mostly sit at desks or hot-desk, whether visitors need Wi-Fi, and which business applications must run from day one. Write these choices on a single page, because every later purchase should follow from them rather than from whatever is in stock at the shop that week.

Settle the security baseline at the same time: multi-factor sign-in for every account, encrypted laptops, a business password manager, endpoint protection and a backup of your cloud data. Building these in from the start costs very little extra. Retrofitting them after staff have formed habits is slower, causes more friction and usually leaves a few gaps that nobody notices until an insurer or a large client asks about them.

Long lead times come first

Business fibre installation, especially where the building has not had a connection to your floor before, can take several weeks and sometimes longer if consents or building access are needed. Order it as soon as the lease is confirmed, and arrange a backup connection, such as a second fibre service, a wireless link or satellite, if the business cannot trade offline. Ask the landlord early where existing building risers and entry points are, because that decides how the fibre reaches you.

Data cabling should be planned with the fit-out drawings, not after the walls are lined. Agree the number of outlets at each desk, meeting room and printer location, where wireless access points go on the ceiling, where cameras or door controllers might sit, and where the comms cabinet will live. Leave spare capacity, because adding cable once ceilings are closed is expensive and disruptive. Any power outlets and circuits for the cabinet are a job for a registered electrician, coordinated with the fit-out.

Devices configured centrally, not by hand

Choose a small number of standard laptop and desktop models and order them with enough time for delivery and setup. With a modern management approach, each device can be registered to your organisation by the supplier, so that when a staff member signs in for the first time it applies your settings, installs the standard apps and encrypts itself. That means the twentieth machine ends up identical to the first, without a technician spending an hour on each.

Add docking stations and monitors that suit the desks, keyboards and mice, and any specialist equipment, such as label printers or card readers. Label everything with an asset number linked to your inventory before it goes out, so you always know which device belongs to which person and when its warranty ends. Keep two or three spare chargers and a spare laptop for emergencies.

Network, Wi-Fi and the comms cabinet

The comms cabinet should hold the fibre termination, a business firewall, network switches, a small uninterruptible power supply and neatly patched cabling, all labelled. It needs ventilation and a lock, and it should not double as a storage cupboard. The firewall separates your office network from the internet and from any guest or device networks, such as visitor Wi-Fi, printers and security cameras.

Wi-Fi should be designed for the actual floor plan, with ceiling-mounted business access points rather than a single router on a desk. Plan for the number of people and devices, meeting rooms that fill up suddenly, and walls or glass that block signal. A quick survey once the fit-out is complete confirms coverage before anyone relies on it. Keep the admin logins for every network device in the business password manager.

Printing, phones and meeting rooms

Decide whether you need one shared multifunction printer or several, and whether secure print release is important, for example in an office handling client files. Printers should connect to the network by cable where possible and be set up centrally so staff do not each install drivers by hand. A managed print contract can bundle toner and servicing if your volumes justify it.

Phones today are usually a cloud system or calling built into your collaboration platform, with apps on laptops and mobiles and only a few desk handsets where people genuinely need them, such as reception. Port existing numbers well before opening day, since porting can take time. Meeting rooms need a screen, a camera and microphone that suit the room size, and a simple way to start a call; test each one with a real external meeting before the opening.

Testing before opening day

Allow at least a few days between the IT being installed and staff arriving. Use that time to test internet failover, sign in on every device, print from each machine, call in and out on every number, check that Wi-Fi reaches every corner, open each business application and confirm that the backup has run successfully. Fix what fails while the office is still empty and quiet.

On the first morning, have someone on site to help with small issues, such as a monitor plugged into the wrong port or a forgotten password. Hand over a short document listing what was installed, where the network diagram and passwords are stored, who supports what and how to get help. That document becomes the start of your ongoing IT records, and a project like this is what Office IT quotes in writing before any work starts.