04 Jan 5 tips to prepare for new IT implementation

When it comes time to replace older legacy systems with newer gear, how should your IT team and technology stakeholders prepare? Here are five tips to help your company prepare for new IT implementation.

Document the existing network infrastructure

First and foremost, it’s critical to document the current network, including creating a list or inventory of all the hardware and software included. Microsoft also suggests documenting server- and client-side network configurations, as well as the configurations of the individual parts of the network, like IP addresses, WAN links, and the entire physical layout. Documenting all of your critical applications should also be a part of this step – the more details you have about your existing infrastructure, the more streamlined the implementation of new systems will be.

Create and leverage an implementation playbook

Before ripping and replacing any IT systems, your IT administrators and stakeholders should establish a playbook that includes step-by-step instructions for the actual implementation. This guide should be considerably detailed – don’t overlook a single process or activity, no matter how small.

Having this playbook in hand doesn’t just ensure that the implementation remains on schedule, but also helps prevent smaller steps or changes from being left out.

Review changing network logic

Depending upon the new solution or platform being put into place, the deployment process could be considerably complex. This goes double for projects that include the implementation of several new, connected solutions.

In order to keep everything organized – and to support the sanity of your IT team – it can be beneficial to take the time to review changes to the network logic that result from the new deployment. TechTarget noted that this should encompass the IP addressing scheme the network uses, as well as the overarching structure. It’s also essential to take note of similar or overlapping networks – if your company has several networks in place, each must be unique in order to avoid routing issues that can impact performance.

Before you rip and replace IT systems, there are a few steps your admins should take first.

Build in extra time

Stakeholders should always plan to spend more time than necessary on the implementation – tight deadlines are not a friend to the IT team or the company’s end users. Rushing through deployment could result in considerable problems that could take even more time to address and resolve.

Have a failsafe: Create a rollback plan

Finally, it’s absolutely critical that the IT team and its stakeholders have a rollback plan just in case things go awry during the implementation. In this way, should deployment not produce the results it was meant to – or should an outage or other performance issues take place – the team can backtrack while supporting the health of the network.

Ready for your upcoming IT implementation? Contact the experts at Pinnacle today!