Ask most organisations where their client data lives and the first answer is “on our system”. The real answer usually includes old shared drives, personal OneDrive folders, email attachments, a CRM from three providers ago, a spreadsheet someone keeps on their desktop and a USB stick in a drawer. You cannot protect what you do not know you have.
Mapping the data
A data audit review builds an honest picture of the personal and confidential information you hold: what it is, where it is stored, who can access it, who it is shared with and how long it is kept. We work with your teams to find the places data accumulates without anyone deciding it should.
Why it matters
Less data, in fewer places, with tighter access, means less to lose in a breach and less to explain to the Information Commissioner’s Office if something goes wrong. It also supports the accountability principle in UK GDPR, makes subject access requests far easier to answer and often reveals licences and storage you no longer need.
What you receive
A clear map of your data, an assessment of the main risks and a practical plan: what to delete, what to move, whose access to remove and which controls to tighten.
Where it leads
A data audit is a natural foundation for Cyber Essentials and for a vulnerability assessment. For the physical side of protecting information, see data security. Book a review.
