When it comes to data center moves, the Pre-Move Planning phase sets the tone for the entire project. But where should you begin when building your Move Playbook?

The short answer: start with your inventories. Specifically, your Master Inventory and Application Inventory.

Why Start Here?

In a perfect world, you could move through every task in your playbook sequentially, checking each off the list with perfection. Reality, however, looks very different. Organizational politics, resource conflicts, and what we like to call the “organizational coefficient of drag”—the resistance to gaining momentum inside your firm—mean things rarely go as planned.

Instead of waiting for the perfect sequence, it’s often best to begin working on parallel tasks:

1. Gather the Master Inventory
2. Gather the Application Inventory
3. Build the Master Timeline
4. Build the Stakeholder Communications Matrix

Building the Master Inventory

Your Master Inventory will become the foundation of your move. Start with the automated tools you already have in place, then supplement them with the extra details you’ll need later. At minimum, capture:

• Replacement Value
• Support Status (is the equipment still supported?)
• Operating System (OS) versions
• Power supplies and specific connectors
• IP addresses
• Technical owners
• Business owners
• Move type (physical, logical, retirement, or no move)
• Membership (production, development, or test)
• Backup validation

Additional Details That Help

To keep your sequencing organized, it also helps to include these three columns in your inventory:

• Origin rack location
• Destination rack location
• Move sequence

With this information in hand, you’ll have a clear roadmap for where equipment is today, where it’s going, and in what order it needs to move.

Why This Step Matters

Skipping or rushing the inventory stage is one of the biggest mistakes organizations make. Without a complete picture of your hardware, applications, and dependencies, you risk costly downtime, misplaced equipment, and frustrated teams.

This is where experience pays off. At Electronic Transport Corp., we’ve helped organizations for more than 20 years build and manage the critical inventories that drive successful data center relocations.

Get Expert Help with Your Move Playbook

If you’re in the early planning stages of a data center move, we can help. From building inventories to creating timelines and communication plans, our team ensures no detail is missed.

📞 Contact Electronic Transport Corp. today for a No Obligation Consultation.