New office technology planning checklist

Build the timeline backward from move-in

The most common problem with a new site is sequence rather than budget. Some items have long lead times, and some have to happen before walls close. Work backward from the date you need to be operating, and treat these as general planning guidance rather than commitments. Confirm every lead time with the provider serving your address.

• Confirm your target move-in date and your first day of real operation. They are rarely the same day.
• Order internet circuits first. Business fiber can require construction and permitting, and the carrier sets that timeline.
• Schedule low-voltage cabling before drywall goes up. Running cable after the fact costs more and looks worse.
• Book the electrician and the cabling contractor to coordinate directly, especially for wall plates, floor boxes, and power in the network closet.
• Order network hardware and workstations once the floor plan is stable, allowing for supply variability on specific models.
• Leave a configuration window between hardware arriving and move-in. Devices that arrive the night before will not be ready.
• Set a firm date for a pre-move test day, with someone on site to verify circuits, Wi-Fi, printing, and phones.

Internet and connectivity

Everything else depends on this, and it is the item you control least. Start here.

• Check which carriers serve the building itself rather than the block. Ask the landlord or property manager which providers already have equipment on site.
• Ask what physically enters the building (fiber, coax, copper) and where the demarcation point is.
• Size bandwidth against how the office will work: cloud applications, video meetings, file transfers, backups, and any on-site servers.
• Decide whether you need a secondary connection for failover, and whether it uses a different medium than the primary.
• Confirm whether you need static addressing for remote access, hosted services, or site-to-site connectivity.
• Get the service order in writing with an install date, and ask what happens if construction is required.
• Plan a temporary connection for the build-out period so contractors and staging work are not blocked.

Cabling and network hardware

The parts that are expensive to change later are the parts inside the walls. Spend the planning time here.

Workstations and peripherals

Device decisions are easier when they follow role definitions rather than individual preferences.

• Define standard configurations by role, so ordering, support, and replacement stay simple.
• Count docks, monitors, keyboards, mice, headsets, and cables. Peripherals are the most commonly forgotten line item.
• Decide on desk power and connectivity: how a laptop connects, charges, and drives displays at each seat.
• Plan device setup and enrollment before delivery, including imaging, management enrollment, and asset tagging.
• Order a small number of spares. A spare laptop on a shelf is cheaper than an idle employee.
• Confirm where old equipment goes if this is a move, including data wiping and disposal records.

Printing, AV, and meeting rooms

Meeting rooms are where visitors form an impression, and where a missing cable becomes everyone's problem.

• Place printers where power, network drops, and traffic patterns allow, and confirm the copier vendor's delivery and install timing.
• Decide per room: display size, camera, microphone and speaker coverage, and whether the room joins meetings natively or through a laptop.
• Run cable to each display location, and add power where the display will hang rather than where the outlet already is.
• Standardize the in-room connection so guests and staff do not hunt for adapters.
• Test acoustics with people in the room. Hard surfaces and glass make rooms sound worse than the demo did.
• Include a room scheduling display only if you will keep calendars current.

Physical security and access

Access control and cameras need cabling, power, and decisions about who holds authority. Plan them alongside the network rather than after it.

• List every door that needs controlled access, and note which are exterior, which are shared with other tenants, and which are fire-rated.
• Confirm what the landlord already provides and what you are permitted to modify.
• Decide on credential type (card, fob, or mobile) and who administers access changes when someone joins or leaves.
• Plan camera coverage by purpose: entrances, receiving, cash handling, server closet. Coverage everywhere is expensive and rarely necessary.
• Confirm retention requirements for recorded footage and where recordings are stored.
• Coordinate door hardware, power, and network drops with the general contractor before ceilings close.
• Write down the process for after-hours access and lost credentials before opening day.

Software and licensing

New sites usually mean new users, and new users mean license changes that are easy to discover late.

• Reconcile user counts against your current productivity and email licensing, including any seasonal or contract staff.
• Confirm license terms for anything moving to a new location or a new legal entity.
• Review security tooling coverage: endpoint protection, backup, multi-factor authentication, and device management for the new devices.
• Check line-of-business applications for site-specific configuration, new installations, or additional seats.
• Set up shared resources before staff arrive: file storage, shared mailboxes, printers, and distribution lists.
• Document administrator accounts and recovery methods, and store them somewhere the business controls.

Day-one readiness checklist

Walk the space and verify these before the first working day rather than on it.

• Internet circuit is live, tested under load, and failover has been exercised if you have it.
• Wi-Fi tested in every occupied area, including corners, stairwells, and any space that was added late to the plan.
• Every desk verified: network, power, display, dock, and phone or softphone audio.
• Printing tested from a normal user account as well as an administrator account.
• Meeting rooms tested with a real meeting, including screen sharing and remote participants.
• Door access tested with real credentials for real people, including after-hours.
• Cameras recording, with retention configured and a named person who can retrieve footage.
• Backups running and verified for anything stored on site.
• A written list of who to call for each system (carrier, cabling contractor, hardware support), posted where staff can find it.
• A support plan for the first week, when small issues arrive all at once.