AnnexA5Annex Planning and software
New office IT setup in Toronto and the GTA
Opening a new office, or your first one? We plan internet, network, laptops, Microsoft 365, phones and security together, so the office works on the first morning with no server room and no loose ends.
- Ready before the doors open
- No server room needed
- Secure from the first sign-in
- Costs set out per person
A new office is a chance to start clean
Moving an existing office means carrying old equipment and old decisions to a new address. Opening a new one is different. Whether it is your first real office after years at home or in a coworking space, or a second location for a growing business, nothing has to be inherited. Every choice can be made for how you work now.
That freedom is also the risk. With no existing setup to copy, the decisions pile up quickly, and most of them have to be made before the lease is even signed. Internet orders take weeks. Cabling has to go in before the walls are closed. The firewall, switches, laptops, phones and Microsoft 365 all have to arrive at the same moment, working together, for an opening date that will not move.
We plan all of it as one project, so the office works on the first morning. If instead you are moving an existing office, our office IT relocation page covers that.
The decisions, and what we usually recommend
Every new office needs answers to the same questions. These are the defaults we start from for an office of 5 to 50 people, adjusted to your work, your building and your budget.
| Decision | What we usually recommend | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Internet | Fibre from one provider, with a second connection from a different provider as backup | When everything is in the cloud, the internet is the office. Two providers rarely fail together |
| Firewall | A FortiGate sized to your internet speed and headcount | Handles both connections, failover, remote access and security filtering in one device |
| Wired network | Managed switches with Power over Ethernet | Phones, access points and cameras draw power from the network cable |
| Cabling | Two network points per desk and one per access point, planned with the fit-out | Adding cables after the walls close costs several times more |
| Files and email | Microsoft 365 Business Premium | Email, files, Teams, device management and core security in one licence |
| Laptops | One or two standard business models, enrolled in Intune | Every desk and dock works for everyone, and a spare covers anyone |
| Phones | Microsoft Teams Phone, or a hosted VoIP service if you need desk phones everywhere | No phone system box in the office, and numbers work from anywhere |
| Meeting rooms | A Teams Rooms video bar in each room | Meetings start with one touch, with remote people heard properly |
| Printing | One business multifunction printer with Universal Print | No print server, and printers appear on every laptop automatically |
Each of these has its own page if you want the detail: FortiGate firewalls, Teams Phone, meeting rooms and printing.
No server room needed
Ten years ago, a new office meant a server room: a locked closet with a rack, a server, a backup drive, a phone system and an air conditioner that someone had to remember to service. Almost none of that is needed today.
A cloud-first office keeps its data and systems in Microsoft 365 and, where needed, Azure. The only equipment on site is what connects people to it.
Files live in SharePoint and OneDrive
Shared files in SharePoint sites by team, personal files in OneDrive, all synced to laptops and reachable from anywhere. Nothing to back up in a closet.
Sign-in and devices are managed from the cloud
Microsoft Entra ID handles accounts and MFA. Intune configures and secures every laptop, wherever it is. There is no domain controller to buy or patch.
What stays on site fits in a small cabinet
A wall-mounted cabinet holds the firewall, a switch, the patch panel, the internet providers’ equipment and a small UPS to ride out power blips. It needs ventilation and a dedicated power outlet, not a room of its own.
The exceptions
Offices that work with very large files, run software that controls equipment, or need local storage for compliance may still need a small server or NAS. We tell you at the planning stage, not after the walls are painted.
Secure from the first sign-in
Security is cheapest to build in before anyone starts work. Once people have habits, every control becomes a change to manage. In a new office, they are simply how things work. Before the first person signs in, we put these in place.
- MFA for everyone, with old sign-in methods that bypass it switched off.
- Conditional Access rules that only allow company data on managed, up-to-date devices.
- Separate administrator accounts, so nobody reads email with full admin rights.
- Microsoft Defender for Business on every laptop, watched by a person.
- BitLocker encryption on every laptop, with recovery keys stored safely.
- Email authentication with SPF, DKIM and DMARC set up on your domain from day one, explained on our email security page.
- Microsoft 365 backup, because Microsoft’s own retention is short.
- A guest network kept completely separate from the business network.
First office or new branch?
Your first real office
Businesses moving out of home offices or coworking spaces usually bring a patchwork with them: email on a personal Gmail account, files in someone’s Dropbox, a domain registered to a former partner’s credit card. A first office is the moment to fix the foundations.
- Domain ownership moved into the company’s name
- A proper Microsoft 365 tenant, with email and files migrated into it
- Personal accounts separated from company data
- Company-owned laptops replacing personal ones where it matters
A second or third location
For a business that already has an office, the goal is for the new one to feel identical. Same sign-in, same files, same phones, same security policies, from the first day.
- A firewall that matches head office, connected by site-to-site VPN where on-site systems need it
- Local internet for Microsoft 365, rather than routing everything through head office
- Printers and meeting rooms published only to people at that site
- One help desk and one set of documentation for both locations
What it costs, per person
The clearest way to budget a new office is per person, split into what you pay once and what you pay every month. We set out both in writing before you commit to anything.
One-time costs
- A laptop, dock, monitor and headset for each person
- A share of the network equipment: firewall, switches and access points
- Meeting room equipment and the printer
- Setup work, and migration if you are bringing data with you
Monthly costs
- Microsoft 365 licences and any phone licences
- Microsoft 365 backup and security subscriptions
- Internet connections, shared across the office
- Managed IT support, per person
For our support plans and what each one includes, see our pricing page. If you would rather buy equipment over time than all at once, we can stage purchases around your opening date.
New office work we quote
Every new office is quoted from your floor plan, headcount and opening date, with equipment, licences and labour on separate lines.
- New office IT plan and budgetFixed quote
- Internet, firewall and network set up for opening dayFixed quote
- Microsoft 365 tenant built with a security baselineFixed quote
- Laptops supplied, enrolled and ready on desksFixed quote
- Teams Phone or VoIP set up with numbers portedFixed quote
- New branch connected to head officeFixed quote
Questions people ask
How early should we order internet for a new office?
As soon as you have a signed lease, and ideally before. Fibre installations commonly take several weeks, and longer if the building has no existing fibre or the landlord's approval is needed for new lines. The backup connection should be ordered at the same time. Internet is the item most likely to delay an opening.
Do we need a server in our new office?
Usually not. Most offices of 5 to 50 people keep files, email and sign-in in Microsoft 365, with devices managed by Intune. The only equipment on site is a small cabinet with the firewall, switch and internet equipment. Offices with very large files or equipment-control software may still need local storage, which we identify at the planning stage.
Who installs the network cabling?
Cabling is installed by a licensed cabling contractor, usually as part of the fit-out. We specify how many network points are needed and where, including access points, meeting rooms, printers and the network cabinet, and coordinate with your contractor so it is right before the walls close.
Can the new office connect to our existing one?
Yes. Where the offices share systems that stay on site, matching firewalls are linked with a site-to-site VPN. For cloud services such as Microsoft 365, each office uses its own internet connection directly, which is faster. Staff sign in the same way and see the same files at both locations.
What does IT for a new office cost?
It depends mostly on headcount and how much equipment you need to buy. We break it into a one-time cost per person for laptops, network equipment and setup, and a monthly cost per person for licences, backup and support, and put both in writing before you commit.
We are moving out of a coworking space. What changes?
In a coworking space, the internet, network, printing and often security are provided for you. In your own office, you own all of them. The move is also the right time to put your email, files and domain on a proper company Microsoft 365 setup, if they are still on personal accounts.
Will someone be on site on opening day?
Yes. We plan for a technician to be on site for the first morning to help people sign in, connect to printers and meeting rooms and sort out anything unexpected, so problems are fixed in minutes rather than logged for later.
Should we buy or lease the equipment?
Most small offices buy laptops and network equipment outright, because they last four to five years and leasing adds interest. Copiers are commonly leased with a service contract. If cash flow around the opening matters more, we can stage purchases or discuss financing options.
Tell us what’s going on
Pick how urgent it is and leave a way to reach you. The help desk replies by phone or email. If work has stopped, call 647-812-3775 instead.
Something broken, or something to plan?
For anything urgent, call. A technician answers the emergency line 24/7. For everything else, open a ticket and tell us what is going on.