Planning the Cabling for Your New Location – Part 1

The relocation to a new facility can be very challenging and costly for any organization. Aside from the expenses associated with moving, setting up utilities, and purchasing furnishings, a portion of the budget should be allocated for new IT infrastructure and equipment. This will allow the company to begin functioning soon after the move.

Since moving involves lots of coordination and tasks, the cabling for data, power, communications, and security may not be prioritized adequately. However, a well-designed structured cabling system is crucial to how well an organization functions. This article will discuss several factors that must be considered for the planning and installation of cabling at your new location.

Determining Parameters

Determining the company’s parameters will greatly aid the planning of the relocation. Below are factors to consider.

• Budget available
• Data, communications, and power requirements
• Future technology and infrastructure needs
• Human resources needed

Available Equipment at New Location

Unless you’re moving into a completely new facility, the new site will probably already have an existing infrastructure for power, data, communications, and security. Thus, your team should undertake a survey of the facility to determine the qualities that will help or hinder your project in terms of your company’s needs. If there is already internet connectivity in place, find out the bandwidth capacity and figure out if it will meet the needs of your company.

Mapping the Infrastructure

Modifications to the existing infrastructure will probably be needed to satisfy the specific needs of your firm in terms of communications, data, power, and security. After the initial survey of the new facility, go forward with mapping every area and room with the aim of providing data cabling and IT infrastructure.

The diagram should include a layout of the new location, juxtaposing the proposed configurations for the data, power, communications, and security cabling. This planning will require making compromises due to the budget ceiling, space limitations, and time constraints.

Part 2 will discuss Health & Safety, Flexibility, Future Growth, and Structured Cabling.

Progressive Office Cabling

Founded in 1986, Progressive Office’s success has been a direct result of years of commitment to seeking solutions on behalf of our clients in the Washington, D.C. and New York City areas. Efficiently working together, Progressive teams get cabling installed and operating as fast as possible while minimizing disruption and downtime. Call our toll free number (800) 614-4560 today.