When moving to a new house with your family, you will have experienced the delights of having to disassemble various pieces of furniture for the move, along with carefully packing up your electronic devices in a way that makes it easy for them to be reconnected at the other end. Now imagine having to do all that dozens of times, if not more. When it comes to moving to a new office, there's a clear benefit to hiring a specialist office removalist for the time- and labour-consuming part of the move. But what about the lightweight, yet critical, parts of the move for which you must take responsibility? What is the safest way to securely move all your files which contain sensitive information?

Before You Move

While you might have a multitude of documents that contain sensitive information, this does not necessarily mean that the documents are current or even useful for your purposes. Take the opportunity to cull these outdated documents by destroying them securely. Small batches can be handled in house via manual shredding, but if there happens to be a considerable number of documents to be destroyed, consider outsourcing this job. Have a word with the company handling your office removals. They might offer this service themselves, or they can at least refer you to a trusted partner. 

Moving Paperwork

For sensitive documents that survive the cull, can they be moved as-is? This depends on how they're stored. It might be sufficient to move them in their locked filing cabinet, for which you will retain the key. They could also be transferred to a lockbox for documents to allow for easy transport by your office removals company, and again, you will retain the key. 

Digital Files

Your business might already have a policy in place with regards to digital data, but it's still possible for certain pieces of information to slip through the cracks. If an employee has made a secondary copy of a document on their desktop for quick reference, then this copy needs to be permanently deleted prior to the computer being packed up and moved. All primary copies will be inaccessible when the computer is disconnected from your company intranet, and for added surety, all computers and digital devices must be password protected if they are not already.

The consequences of a data breach can be devastating for a business, and so it's vital to be sure that you take adequate precautions when moving to a new office.

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