Patrick Shaw’s Weblog

You’ve met with a network expert, you know what hardware and software you need, it’s on order, and soon you’ll have a smooth and efficient server. But before it arrives, you can do a few things that can streamline the process and might even save time and money along the way!

If your project includes new workstations, make sure that someone on your team (or each of your employees) reviews “Getting Ready For a New Workstation“. Most of the tasks listed here CAN be done by a network expert - but if you can do them before the project begins, you’ll save time and money.

If you’ll be working with existing workstations - most of the “Getting Ready . . .” information still applies. In addition, however - you’ll want to:

• Put a sticky note on every workstation with the current user name and password, as well as the computer name. If you’ve discussed a new naming convention for workstations - be sure to include the new user name and new computer name!
• If your project includes new antivirus software - you’ll want to uninstall the existing software the night before. Most often, antivirus software can be “pushed” from the server, making it easier to install, speedier - and giving you a central place to manage your virus protection!
• If you are upgrading your workstation software (in addition to the notes in “Getting Ready . . .) make sure that you’ve installed Windows XP Professional and that you’ve also run Windows Update to make sure you have all of the current software updates. Your network expert can do this, too - but - this is a nice way to save time and money!
• Make sure you review each workstation to make sure that you’ve identified any data that needs to be moved to the server. In general, this includes items in the “my documents” folder, any email information that is stored on the workstation, and things such as QuickBooks files or other data that is now going to “live” on the server. Special bonus points for placing all of that information in one folder on the workstation!

Finally - don’t forget that new hardware and software will take some time to settle in - and so will your employees! They might have new user names and passwords, their data might be in a different spot and so on - so - make allowances for the first several days so everyone can get adjusted. You may also want to consider having a coach or a trainer on site, or to consider sending your team to training if your new software is substantially different from your old software!