If your business is planning to move its digital operations—whether it’s to a new physical office, a different data center, or expanding more into the cloud—it is important to understand that the journey ahead can come with challenges and risks to your business.
Proactively identifying these risks and taking the right measures can help make this transition smooth and secure, allowing you to maintain operational continuity. Let’s look at what you should focus on during this process.
Review Your IT Systems and Infrastructure
Whether you are looking to relocate your entire business or just upgrading to better IT systems, it is important to always start with a clear map of your current IT setup. This includes servers, networking equipment, computers, and software.
Ask yourself: what systems are critical to the mission and operations of your business? Which ones can be upgraded or retired during the move? Carefully plan how you’ll move each part of your infrastructure, and consider the risks if something doesn’t go as planned. This is a good time to update old hardware, streamline software licenses, and identify opportunities for efficiency.
Maintain Ongoing Cloud Service Access
Over the past years, cloud-based systems have become all the more efficient, widespread, and convenient. So, the chances are that your business uses some cloud applications for things like email, collaboration, or data storage.
Since these systems rely on connectivity, it is important that, during your move, you have reliable internet access and contingency plans. This allows your team members—those that work in the office and remote employees—to continue to have access to these cloud services without interruption.
Here, implementing effective cloud management strategies—for private, public, and hybrid models alike—can help you keep your systems safe, controlled, and efficient. For instance, up to date user permissions and multi-factor authentication can ensure you continue to manage access and keep your data safe, even as you are moving your digital operations.
Secure Your Devices and Data
One of the major risks of moving your digital operations is data leaks and breaches. During transitions, devices can be misplaced, and vulnerable data may become exposed. Additionally, your focus may be on some other aspect of the transaction, causing you to make mistakes that are seemingly small (such as staying logged in into a platform or application) but can have profound consequences.
So, take these precautions before you move:
- Encrypt all sensitive data, including backups.
- Double-check your inventory, and know which devices and drives are in use.
- Make sure passwords and access policies are up-to-date.
- Ensure all devices are wiped or securely transported.
- Define clear roles for who is responsible for data at each stage of the transition.
- Regularly update software and train employees on security best practices to minimize risks throughout the moving process.
Additionally, to keep your business protected during the transition, enforce strict access controls, encrypt sensitive files, and maintain a thorough inventory of all devices. This is also a moment to review how you’re protecting endpoints like laptops and mobiles. You may consider updating your malware protection and enforce device policies to help prevent issues.
Ensure Data Accessibility and Business Continuity
Any interruption in operations could cost you money and trust. However, with the right proactive approach, there is a lot that you can do to maintain continuity.
For instance, before moving, schedule backups of all critical data and test restoring them. You should also confirm that staff will have access to essential data and applications throughout the move, especially if they can continue operating from remote locations or the new office.
Remember to have a plan B in place. During the move, your internet connection or access to applications may fail. Here, having a second, secure WiFi, as well as alternative access methods can help you avoid downtime.
Monitor Performance After the Move
When your digital operations are set up in the new location or environment, it is critical to monitor performance right away. Set up alerts for downtime, slow service, or security issues, and be sure to work in partnership with IT experts who can help you resolve issues before they progress into emergencies.
Of course, you may not be able to keep all systems under control by yourself. That’s where it is important to get feedback from staff to catch anything that needs fine-tuning. This will help you solve issues fast and keep your business running smoothly.
The Bottom Line
Ultimately, when moving your digital operations, you should focus on careful system mapping, data security, uninterrupted cloud access, and ongoing monitoring. By planning well, you not only reduce the risks of a big move but also put your business in a stronger position for growth.
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