Are Privacy Management Solutions the new strategic imperative for your business?
Audio Blog Version:
The digital age is constantly changing the way we live, work and interact with each other. We rely on technology to keep us connected and enable us to do our jobs smarter. This is great news for all of us, but it has also resulted in several challenges and risks that must be managed effectively.
One such challenge is privacy management. With global privacy regulations in place, it is now a business imperative that data is managed correctly. With heavy fines and loss of reputation of brand possible impacts of not doing this correctly and in a systematic way, organisations now need to consider a privacy management solution.
As more and more businesses collect data, there has been an exponential increase in the amount of personal information being collected. Businesses are collecting more and more personal information from their employees, supply chain as well as customers who interact with them. The result is that there is now a lot of personally identifiable information (PII) floating around within an organisation and this is a growing challenge to manage.
Data Compliance
In the data economy it’s not just about protecting personal information from hackers, but also about ensuring that you’re complying with all laws regarding your use of that information. Data privacy laws are becoming more stringent across the globe—and if you don’t comply with them now, it could cost you later.
Privacy compliance is no longer an afterthought but rather a key aspect of the customer experience which has become fundamental to how organisations operate—both internally and externally.
Organisations need to get serious about privacy compliance as they have come to realise that privacy practices are not just about being compliant with laws but also about building trust with customers and protecting their personal information from cyberattacks.
Privacy regulations are here to stay and globally adopted so businesses must adopt and implement effective privacy strategies into their operations if they want to compete successfully in today’s market environment.
Stop using spreadsheets
Many organisations will still use spreadsheets to help an organisation make sense of this data, however this still leads to constant data sprawl and errors which makes it difficult to get a single view of a data subject. You add data, you change it and then you update the spreadsheet. This process can take a long time and if someone else changes the same data in another part of the spreadsheet, it could lead to an error.
Imagine for a second, how would you manage a freedom of information request or the need to redact data? The time saving alone could outweigh the cost of a privacy management software platform. Imagine how long it would take to collate the information for a freedom of information request, and then you had to redact the data? Spreadsheets are also not good at keeping track of who is accessing your data or making changes to it. This leaves them vulnerable to mistakes such as accidental overwriting or deleting important information by mistake.
Privacy Management Tools and Technology
Privacy management tools and technology are an essential part of any successful data privacy compliance strategy. These solutions enable businesses to understand and manage data across the organisation, from its lifecycle through to its disposal.
With the rise of GDPR, many companies are already facing and have faced serious financial penalties for mishandling PII—and with several other countries around the world preparing to institute similar measures, it’s only a matter of time before privacy laws become even more stringent.
Data breaches can cause irreparable damage to your brand reputation as well as loss in revenue if your customers decide not to do business with you anymore because they don’t feel protected by your company or service. The best way to avoid these problems is by adopting an effective privacy management solution that will help you monitor, control and protect all customer data at every stage in its lifecycle: collection; processing; storage; use/distribution within your organisation; sharing externally (with third parties); deletion/destruction at end-of-lifecycle stages (e.g., retirement from active use).
A 360 Data View is a must to give complete visibility into all relevant PII across all systems—including email databases so that companies can easily pinpoint where sensitive information resides within their networks so they can act before any harm occurs.
Why consider a privacy management solution?
A good privacy management solution should:
- Provide a 360-degree view of your data- You need to be able to see all the data in one place, so you can make better decisions about how to protect it and how best to use it.
- Enable you to secure all your data – Right now, many businesses have no way of knowing where their sensitive information is or what technology they’re using to keep it safe. This makes it difficult if not impossible for them to comply with new regulations like GDPR or COPPA.
- Allow Data Discovery – When speaking in terms of personal data processing, data discovery is fundamental to achieving compliance.
- Assist Commercial Agility – From meeting customers’ expectations to achieving competitive advantages in the form of a higher quality of data, improved customer experience, and greater investor appeal and brand.
Conclusion
Privacy management is a critical component of any organisation’s data governance strategy. It will help you to ensure that your employees, suppliers and customers can trust that their personal information is protected and used appropriately. It also ensures compliance with the myriad laws, regulations and best practices related to privacy protection across industries like health care, financial services or technology where sensitive data is regularly collected from individuals in order for organisations to operate effectively.