New offices go wrong in a predictable way. Furniture is ordered, the fit-out starts, and IT gets called when someone realises there are no network points where the desks are going. By then the ceiling is closed and the only option is surface trunking, which costs more and looks worse permanently.
Before the fit-out starts
- 1Decide desk positions, because network points follow desks and cannot be moved cheaply afterwards
- 2Choose where the comms cabinet lives, ideally not a cupboard with no ventilation
- 3Order the internet line, since provisioning is the longest lead time in the whole project
- 4Decide Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, since it affects device choice and identity setup
- 5Confirm whether any regulatory requirement affects where data can live
Order the line first
The internet line is almost always the critical path. Order it the day the lease is signed, not when the desks arrive, because nothing else in the project waits as long.
During the fit-out
There is one window where cabling is economical, and it closes when the ceilings and raised floors go in. Everything below has to happen inside it.
- Structured cabling pulled to every desk position, plus ceiling points for access points
- Cat 6 or Cat 6a chosen against how long you will hold the space
- Containment and floor boxes coordinated with the main contractor rather than negotiated afterwards
- Power provisioned in the comms cabinet, including a circuit for a UPS
- Cable runs to camera and access control positions if those are planned
What can wait, and what cannot
| Decision | Timing | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Internet line | Immediately | Longest lead time by far |
| Cabling | Before ceilings close | The window does not reopen |
| Comms cabinet location | Before cabling | Everything terminates there |
| Wi-Fi access point positions | Before ceilings close | Needs cable, needs ceiling access |
| Switches and firewall | Weeks before move-in | Configured off site, installed quickly |
| Laptops and desktops | Weeks before move-in | Imaged and enrolled in advance |
| Printers | After move-in | Nothing depends on them |
| Meeting room AV | After move-in | Independent of the cabling window |
Identity before devices
Set up your tenant, security baseline and device enrolment before the first laptop is unboxed. Devices that enrol themselves on first boot save a substantial amount of manual work at exactly the moment everyone is busiest, and it means the security baseline applies from day one rather than being retrofitted.
The mistakes we see most
- IT engaged after the fit-out contractor, so cabling misses its window
- A comms cabinet in a cupboard with no ventilation, which becomes a summer problem
- Internet line ordered late, so the office opens on a mobile hotspot
- Consumer Wi-Fi equipment bought to save money, then replaced within a year
- No thought given to where cameras or access control would go, requiring a second cabling visit
Setting up a new Abu Dhabi office?
Send us the floor plans and your fit-out dates. We will survey the space and sequence the IT work against your programme rather than around it.
