We are opening a new branch — what technical setup is needed? — answered by Engineer Saeed Baatiah
Order the setup by what delays opening if it slips: first the internet line (it can take weeks, so order it before anything else), then network cabling inside the building before walls and ceilings are closed — deferring it means breaking finished work later. Then the router and access points, then devices and printers, then connecting the branch to the system. The wrong order is the commonest cause of a delayed branch opening.
The internet line first and before anything else, and it is the commonest cause of delayed openings: installation can take weeks depending on the area and infrastructure readiness, and money usually cannot accelerate it. Order it the moment the lease is signed rather than after fit-out. The common mistake is assuming it takes days as it does for a home.
Then network cabling before walls and ceilings are closed — a point of no return. Running a cable after fit-out means breaking plasterboard or surface trunking that spoils the space, and the cost multiplies. Mark every point: reception, each examination room, the lab, the pharmacy, printers, cameras and wireless access points — and add two spare points per room, the cheapest thing now and the most expensive later.
Then the rest in order: router and access points, then devices and printers, then connecting the branch to the system and testing it a week before opening rather than on the day. And reserve a full week for real testing with staff — opening on an untested system means a chaotic first day that stays in your first patients’ memory.
- The internet line the moment the lease is signed — it can take weeks
- Cabling before walls close — a point of no return
- Two spare points per room: the cheapest thing now
- Test with staff a week before opening, not on the day