How to prepare your company for network valuation

Preparing for a network valuation comes down to a few simple things that shorten the entire process and make it more accurate, and none of them requires knowledge of the network. This article collects them into a checklist, explains the importance of each point and shows why an inaccurate quote may result in an annex.

Preparing for a network valuation: why it matters

The valuation of a network installation is essentially an answer to the question about the amount of work and material, so the less is known about the facility, the greater the margin of uncertainty must be included in the estimate.

This margin leads in one of two unfavorable directions: the contractor adds reserves for the unknown, which makes the offer more expensive than it needs to be, or he estimates it optimistically, and the difference is revealed during the work as an annex.

By preparing a few things before the site visit, most of this uncertainty can be removed, although none of them require technical knowledge.

There's one more effect worth knowing: prepared materials allow you to compare offers, because three contractors who received the same set of information price the same range, while after the slogan "we need a network in the office" each of them may price something different.

A throw, even if it was freehand

Throw is the most useful material in the entire preparation list.

It does not have to be an architectural design, because a sketch with a division into rooms and approximate dimensions is enough, and if there is an evacuation plan on the wall, you can usually use its photo.

What's worth noting on it:

• where the cabinet or network devices are located, if any,
• where the operator's link enters,
• which rooms are and which are not within the scope of work,
• places where it is known that something is not working.

The projection allows you to determine distances that cannot be reliably determined during a conversation, and they determine the length of the cable, the number of routes and whether one distribution point is enough.

List of devices to work

What you need is not a list of devices connected today, but of those that are expected to work after the work is completed.

Worth mentioning:

• desktop computers and laptops, divided into wired and wireless,
• printers, scanners, multifunction devices,
• phones, if the company uses network telephony,
• cameras, access control, intercoms,
• terminals, collectors, scales, cash registers, production equipment with network connection,
• servers and network drives,
• equipment in conference rooms,
• guest devices if they are to use the network.

The two groups that most often fall off this list, although they have a large impact on valuation, are devices powered by a network cable (cameras, access points, some phones) and technical equipment, which no one remembers because it's not on the desk.

Number of people and way of working

The number of employees alone says less than it seems, so information about how they work is more useful:

• how many people work in a given area at the same time,
• whether the work is mainly e-mail and documents, or videoconferencing and working on files from the server,
• are there peak times, for example morning whole shift login,
• whether an increase in employment is planned within two or three years.

The last point can be included cheaply at the design stage, while changing it later will be expensive because adding two additional tracks during the works costs a fraction of a separate visit in a year.

Access to rooms and routes

It is in access to rooms and routes that differences between valuation and reality most often arise.

Before the on-site visit, it is worth determining:

• is it possible to enter all rooms for work, including technical rooms,
• can the suspended ceiling be opened and is there space above it,
• are there any free culverts between rooms or do I need to drill,
• are there channels, trays or strips that can be used,
• what are the walls: plasterboard, brick, reinforced concrete. This determines time and equipment,
• Are there any restrictions in the building: working hours, manager's consent, fire safety requirements.

The last point can be overlooked, although in rented office buildings it can block work for weeks, so if you rent the surface, check the terms of the administrator's consent, before ask for a quote.

What is there and will it stay?

If the network already exists, the contractor must know what he will find on site:

• is there any installation documentation and are the sockets described,
• how old is the cabling, approximately?
• what network devices work and are they manageable,
• does anyone have administrative access to them,
• what should stay and what should be replaced.

You don't need to know all the answers, because an honest "we don't know, no one conducted it" is valuable information that tells the contractor that the first stage should be an inventory.

When the company may not be working

When upgrading, this question has a greater impact on price than half of the other issues.

It is worth determining before the conversation:

• whether work can take place during working hours or only outside them,
• whether it is a weekend or a day when the company is closed,
• which systems cannot lose connection even for a moment,
• whether there is a period of the year when a break is excluded.

Work outside hours costs more, although sometimes they are the only option, so it is better to take them into account at the pricing stage rather than when setting the date. We develop the issue in the article about modernise your network without downtime.

Budget: say it or not

This is a common question and the answer is less obvious than it seems.

Providing a range does not mean that the contractor will "set the price within the budget", but allows you to select the scope and solutions to what is actually feasible. Without this information, a project may be created that exceeds the company's capabilities twice, and as a result, the work of both parties will be wasted.

If you don't want to enter an amount, at least indicate it priority, determining whether it is the cheapest solution to one problem or infrastructure planned for years.

What you don't need to prepare

To ensure that the list of preparations does not discourage you, it is worth clearly defining what the company does not need to know:

• you don't need to know what equipment to buy. This is the contractor's work,
• you don't need to know cabling categories or standards. Just a description of what should work,
• you don't need to have a design. A freehand view is sufficient for the valuation,
• you don't have to have everything. Each item on this list shortens the process separately.

Pre-site inspection checklist

1. Plan or sketch with division into rooms.
2. Selected: cabinet, link input, work area.
3. List of devices to run after completion.
4. Number of people working simultaneously in each area.
5. Information about the type of walls and route availability.
6. Building restrictions: hours, consents, requirements.
7. Status of current installation and access.
8. Windows where the company may not work.
9. Priority or budget range.
10. Contact person with access to the premises.

Point 10 sounds trivial, although it can be a bottleneck because an on-site visit where no one has a key to the technical room ends with a second visit.

What should happen after the vision

There are a few things that should happen after the vision so you know what to expect from the offer:

• the contractor should ask questions, not just watch and leave,
• the quote should point out the scope, not describe it in one sentence,
• should be explicitly listed exclusions: what is not included,
• the procedure for additional work should be described,
• it should be clear what will be included in the documentation upon receipt.

If the offer does not include it, it is worth asking using list of questions to the network contractor before the contract, which organises these findings.

What does it look like in our place?

We start with an overview, not with an offer, checking the actual status, determining the scope and indicating what can be done with configuration without any effort and what requires work. The review result stays with you regardless of whether you decide to cooperate, so you can use it to compare other offers.

The quote is given in points, with explicit exclusions and the procedure for approving additional works, but we do not specify the date before viewing the facility.

After implementation, the network can remain entirely on your side, along with documentation and full administrative rights, or be under our constant care, the scope of which is specified in the contract.

The scope of implementation includes: building and maintaining corporate networks, from overview to documentation.

Book a free IT review And let's start with the questions, not the catalogue.