An office with 5 computers: what to buy and how to set it up
A new office or a move is the right moment to get it right the first time. Here is a plan for five workstations: what to buy, how to connect it and what to write down, so you are not hunting for passwords and lost files a year later.
What to buy
- PCs or laptops matched to the job: office machines for accounts and sales, more power for design.
- Monitors: a second screen noticeably speeds up document work.
- A network multifunction printer — one for everyone, printing from any PC.
- A router and a switch, plus a Wi-Fi access point in a larger space.
- A UPS for the router and key PCs, surge protectors for the rest.
Software and licences
Windows 11 Pro suits an office better: disk encryption, Remote Desktop, user permissions. An office suite, email on the company domain, built-in Windows Security — and no “activators”: unlicensed software means fines and risk.
Network and access
- Shared folders per department; the manager can access all of them.
- Guest Wi-Fi for visitors, separate from the work network.
- One account per employee — no shared password.
- When someone leaves, their access is removed the same day.
Backups
Automatic backups of important folders to an external drive or a NAS, plus a cloud copy — the 3-2-1 rule. Check every quarter that the files actually open.
Passwords and paperwork
Logins for the router, email, licences and cloud are written down and kept by the owner — not just by “that one employee”. A network map and a hardware list with serial numbers save hours on every repair.