Case Study: MSP Supports Infrastructure Move of GP Flooring Solutions to Mitigate IT Downtime During Office Move
An office is more than just a building. It provides space to create culture, build camaraderie, encourage collaboration and ultimately conduct business operations. As a company grows, it often finds the need to move facilities, triggering an onslaught of logistical challenges. That is why they looked to BriteStar, an MSP to support its infrastructure move.
While the physical office space and all that goes in it is a critical part of the move, so is a company’s backbone – its IT infrastructure. The physical infrastructure of computers, phones and servers enables productivity, while the virtual network connects devices and information. Operational IT infrastructure permits both on-site and off-site workers to connect to necessary business tools. The daunting thought of transferring all infrastructure to a new location and having to reconfigure it, while minimizing issues and downtime, is a concern for business owners.
Brite’s managed service offering, BriteStar combines superior people, process and technology to support companies and help manage their IT infrastructure and cybersecurity. The BriteStar team works alongside companies to tackle an array of situations and challenges – including moving office locations.
Concerns About Downtime Plague Move Planning
GP Flooring Solutions, a commercial flooring contractor, had an expiring lease. The team took it as an opportunity to find a space that was better suited for its growing team and company culture. After looking at several options, the team finally found the right space and an impending move was scheduled.
As with any move, the management team had concerns regarding GP Flooring Solutions’ Information Technology. Josh Reinhard, Director of Project Management, commented on the technical challenges associated with the move, “I was really nervous about the phones and ordering process. I was even worried about the fax machine because it’s a different type of line. And then we also run software that is housed in a server that we have located here. So, making sure that the server was functioning when it moved over was a concern. Also, we needed to make sure that our remote people could call in or were able to get connected through the VPN. Those were my biggest concerns.”
With a lot of moving parts, Josh Reinhard was rightfully concerned about moving GP Flooring Solutions’ IT infrastructure.
BriteStar’s People, Process and Technology Shine
As a current BriteStar customer and with an understanding of the magnitude of moving all of the IT, GP Flooring Solutions reached out to Brite to begin the planning process.
Over the course of four meetings leading up to moving day, the team established a plan. The comprehensive plan included the design of the new IT server room. From shelf space to temperature, Brite helped plan it all. The temperature was key, as the servers require a stable, regulated environment to operate at peak performance. The Brite team ensured that the new room was ideal for GP Flooring’s current needs with space to support expected growth.
“Our BriteStar Senior Technical Consultant really took the lead on all of it. It would have been way too overwhelming for me,” Josh Reinhard recounted. “He laid out all the things we needed to do. He reached out to our internet and phone providers. He ran the show – helping us bring all our technology over, which was awesome.”
On moving day, the BriteStar team was at GP Flooring bright and early. “Two BriteStar team members came out to our old office at 8:00 AM. Within 45 minutes or an hour, they had disconnected and loaded up all the equipment. We brought the equipment to our new location. By 12:30 everything was up and running, and our remote people could start connecting into the server,’’ said Josh Reinhard. “It was seamless.”
During the initial onboarding process, detailed Network Diagrams were created, documenting all configurations. This allowed for seamless moving transitions. The outline enabled the Brite team to simply disconnect the existing network and, while referring to the documentation as a guide, reconnect at the new location.
The concern regarding remote workers regaining access to the network was not an issue with the BriteStar team’s proactive planning.
“We let everybody who was remote know to call the help desk to get their updated VPN information. By the end of the day all our remote people were connected, and everybody was up and running,” explained Josh Reinhard.
After setting up the equipment, the Brite team continued to work with the phone providers to ensure lines were operational, and they eliminated future issues.
Overall, moving an entire business, including an operating warehouse of materials, is not an easy task, but with the right plan, the technology and infrastructure components were painlessly transitioned to the new space, leaving the GP Flooring team confident in its infrastructure.
“After the move, I was recapping with our President Abby, and I said, ‘You know if we weren’t with Brite, I don’t know how this would have worked,’” Josh Reinhard said. “The technology seemed to be the easiest part of the move. We’re very pleased with the way everything turned out.”
