THE GOLDEN RULE
Cabling goes in first. Everything else in an office fit-out — floors, walls, furniture — makes cable access worse and more expensive. Structured cabling is the one item that must be installed at shell stage, before decorators and desk assemblers arrive. Retrofitting a cable run into a finished office can cost 2–3× the original price.
And that rule now covers more than data: modern offices also run CCTV cameras, access control, wireless APs and even door entry over the same structured cabling. Plan all of it at shell stage.
PHASE 1 — BEFORE THE FIT-OUT
- Order the internet line early — business leased lines/fibre can take 4–12 weeks to install. Choose business-grade (SLA-backed), not residential
- Plan desk positions — every desk needs at least one network point; add spares (20%) for growth
- Plan the comms cabinet location — central, ventilated, lockable, near where the line enters
- Plan camera & access points together — CCTV positions, AP positions and door entry all share the same cabling infrastructure
- Book a site survey — a professional maps cable runs, WiFi placement, camera coverage and cabinet needs (£150–£300, usually credited against the install)
- Install structured cabling — Cat6 minimum for new installs, £75–£100 per point, tested and labelled — including runs for cameras and APs
PHASE 2 — CORE HARDWARE
- Router/firewall — business-grade, with VPN support if staff work remotely (£200–£800)
- Switches — managed, with PoE for access points, IP cameras and IP phones (£150–£600 per switch)
- WiFi access points — ceiling-mounted, roughly 1 per 20–30 users or per 250–350m² (£100–£300 per AP)
- CCTV system — IP cameras on the same PoE infrastructure, NVR in the comms cabinet, VLAN-separated from business data
- UPS — battery backup for the comms cabinet so a power blip doesn't kill the network AND the CCTV (£100–£400)
- Networked printer/MFD — placed with cable and power access
PHASE 3 — WORKPLACE LAYER
- Laptops/desktops configured and enrolled — Microsoft Intune (or similar) so devices self-configure with policies and apps
- Email and accounts — Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, set up before day one
- Cloud storage/file sharing — decided and permissions structured
- Phones — VoIP handsets or softphones; check the broadband can carry the calls
- Printing configured — networked, drivers deployed centrally
- Meeting room AV — display, conferencing bar, wireless presentation (often forgotten until week three, then urgent)
PHASE 4 — SECURITY (DON'T SKIP)
- Firewall rules reviewed, default passwords changed on EVERY device (routers, APs, printers, cameras — CCTV included)
- CCTV system configured: retention policy, motion zones, signage plan, GDPR positioning
- Guest WiFi isolated from the business network AND from the CCTV VLAN
- Multi-factor authentication on email and admin accounts
- Backups configured and TESTED (an untested backup is a hope, not a backup)
- Cyber Essentials application considered (~£300 — cheap credibility with clients and insurers)
REALISTIC BUDGETS
| Office size | Typical IT setup cost (incl. CCTV) |
| 5 desks | £2,500–£5,000 |
| 10 desks | £4,000–£9,500 |
| 25 desks | £9,000–£22,000 |
| 50+ desks | £22,000+ (survey essential) |
Excludes computers themselves. Includes cabling, network hardware, CCTV, configuration and labour.
THE 5 CLASSIC MISTAKES
- Cabling ordered too late — the double-cost retrofit (and no camera runs planned at all)
- Residential broadband for a business — no SLA, no fix time, congestion at peak
- Supermarket/consumer WiFi gear — fails under real office load
- CCTV bought from an alarm shop, installed off-network — unsecurable, unmanageable, no integration
- Default passwords left on routers, printers, cameras and NVRs — the #1 small-business breach route
QUICK SUMMARY
- Line ordered early, cabling at shell stage — data + CCTV + AP runs planned together
- Business-grade core: firewall, PoE switch, proper APs, UPS, integrated CCTV
- Configure and secure BEFORE move-in day, not during the chaos
- Budget £300–£800 per desk for infrastructure including security (excl. computers)
- A survey costs little and prevents the expensive mistakes — book one with Triset
