Relocating your business? Read this first!

Have you ever thought about relocating your business? What would be the first question you need to ask? Where?  How much space can I afford? How much is it going to cost? Can I save money?

These are all valid questions and it’s important to ask yourself these  before taking the plunge. One question that a surprising number of businesses fail to ask before signing up to a new location is what broadband speed will I get?

As an IT consultant this question would be the first from my lips should Rob tell me we are planning to relocate. I will admit that there are probably a few other important items that I wouldn’t think about such as business rates or car parking but it seems logical to me to think about the internet as most of our systems are cloud based. We rely heavily on our internet connections to support our customers and if you were to take a snapshot of our client base I’m sure more than 90% of our customers would also share the view that internet connectivity is critical to their business success. That said, I think most businesses would still have the internet speed question much further down the list.

Internet connections in our region are improving with ADSL2+ and Fibre connections becoming more common. This doesn’t mean that you should assume that your dream location will have great connectivity.

We’ve had a number of clients’ contact us in the last 18 months to tell us that they are relocating and asking us to help with the migration. At this point my first sentence is, "yes, no problem, do you have the postcode of the new premises?” 5 minutes later I have the unenviable task of taking the shine off their good news by telling them that the location has an estimated broadband speed which might not be fit for their business.

This situation can be costly to resolve as the alternatives to ADSL2+ and fibre connections can be as much as £600.00 per month and often are tied in to a 36 month agreement.

So, if you are thinking of moving and have a short list of possible locations please feel free to get in touch. We can quickly give you an indication of possible broadband speeds and how moving to those locations can impact your business. We can even send you our ‘Moving Office Guide’ which could steer you in the right direction.

Gordon Keogan - IT Manager