From an information technology perspective, this may be the most valuable piece of advice I can give you:
Run and test a backup of all of your critical data before you move.
I'm sure you have run tape system backups for years, but you still need to run and test a brand new one. Again, this is essential. Let me tell you that data backup is one of the most tedious and complex jobs in the IT field.
Tape backup systems are notoriously unreliable. Using mechanical tape loaders make your systems prone to breakage and the tapes themselves are not that durable. So it is imperative that you use a rotation of multiple tapes and back up your key data every day.
Use a new set of tapes and run a series of backups every day for at least one week prior to your move. Use state-of-the-art tape backup systems that are with very high performance and capacity at a relatively low price. And, do a thorough information test restore to make sure your backup worked. Then, store your tapes in a secure location until your move is complete.
Another good thing to do is that if you already have a tape backup system, doing a second backup program may be a necessity. Do an additional backup to the external hard disk with an automatic backup program. With this in place, you will have the double data security. It will also be easy to check the backed up files in the external hard disk.
Running and organizing your tape backups requires a great attention to detail, but doing so is a very important part of your office move.
Michael Cooch is the founder and CEO of Everon Technology Services LLC, a provider of a variety of IT services for small businesses and non-profits nationwide, including: IT support and management services, data protection services, and internet marketing services.
To learn more about Everon's services, please visit http://www.everonit.com. For more great small business technology tips, visit Everon's blog at http://www.smallbusinesstechtips.com.
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