Relocation Guide for Telecom

Introduction

Every time you move offices there are many opportunities for the business to be disrupted. Nothing will disrupt most offices more than losing their connection to the outside world – their voice and internet services. Without the ability to connect with clients nothing of real value, i.e. revenue generation, can occur. Until everything goes wireless - proper planning for relocating telecom services is critical, and also creates an opportunity to get rid of unused services and save some money on rates as well. We’ve helped companies get telecom services at their new offices, as well as reducing their monthly costs 50%, so we know some of the pitfalls and how to avoid them.

Inventory

Before you even know where you’re moving to, the first step is to create an inventory of what you’re paying for today. This is time consuming, but you won’t have time later. Then figure out how many lines you need at your new location so there is plenty of capacity for phone calls and internet and WAN traffic. Involve your phone system vendor and let them know you’ll be moving. If you’re moving because you’re growing rapidly, also make sure the phone system can handle increased call volume. Even if it can handle an increase in lines, you’ll be surprised how often the system has an internal bottleneck at the voice mail and auto-attendant that constricts the number of calls.

Right-Sizing

It is better to be over capacity than under capacity, so focus on making sure you’re paying for what you need then worry about getting rid of what you don’t need. If you’re under capacity for your new space, make sure you figure out who you’re going to order from and at what price. Negotiate ahead of time – make it clear you’re moving. Make sure the paperwork is filled out so the order can be submitted promptly when you have confirmed a new space. This is also a good time to cancel services you don’t need any more. You may be charged for moving the unused services too – we had a client whose T1 moves cost $1,000 per T1.

Planning

Lead times for new services and moving services are long. Too many times people select a space at the last minute only to discover they can’t get voice or data service at the new space. Call ahead and find out exactly how long it takes to move a service or order a new one. Make sure the phone numbers can be moved to the new location and you don’t have to transition clients and suppliers to new phone numbers. (You can also set up call forwarding.)

• Regular Phone lines and DSL can be up in less than two weeks.
• T1 and PRIs etc. usually take more than a month.
• 60 days lead time is preferable.

Ask your phone / PBX vendor to make sure they properly move you to the new location. Make sure they advise you on lead times as well. Make them a partner – often they can build out all the phone wiring and network cabling and installing switches, phones, etc.

What Next?

Many executives and decision making parties simply don’t have the time to decipher vendor bills, create and review a thorough inventory, request moves adds and changes, and ensure their vendor implement their requests properly. If you can relate to this feeling, it might be worth spending time to evaluate your organization’s needs. Outsourcing this process may potentially be a good idea for your company. Our firm Berlin Pacific www.berlinpacific.com can help with your move.

We can help

• Prepare a full inventory of all your services
• Save money terminating unused services
• Help you determine additional services to order
• Get you better rates on all of your services
• Help with ordering of new services and moves of existing services
• Confirm your PBX has sufficient capacity, and help with upgrades

This can free up time to focus on the other aspects of the move and save money, so using us won’t cost you a dime. Most of our clients save $500 per employee per year on telecom.

Anders Mikkelsen is the Managing Director for Berlin Pacific. Berlin Pacific is a telecom efficiency consulting company that helps small and medium sized businesses cut costs and improve business operations.

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