Is Your Business One of the 50% Unprepared for GDPR?

You better prepare, or it'll cost you! GDPR will be in-force sooner than you think. In this blog, we explore the key considerations the modern CIO needs to be aware of.

There is now less than a year to go until the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force on 25th May 2018. GDPR stands to significantly impact how companies handle customer data in the future. A failure to comply will expose businesses to fines of up to €20million or 4% of global turnover, whichever is greater – providing a strong incentive towards compliance. As the deadline grows nearer, organizations must take action on GDPR now.

Under the GDPR, organizations must obtain consent to use a customer’s data, be able to track all instances of customer data and then be able to delete this data on request.

This presents a huge challenge for CIOs; data volumes are increasing as organizations are using a growing number of both third-party cloud services, alongside their on-premise infrastructure.

As a result, organizations must ensure their data management processes are up-to-date so they can track sensitive customer information wherever it is stored – be it on a physical or virtual server – in order to stay compliant.

However, controlling data storage and sovereignty is far easier in an on-premise environment than a cloud environment.

Whilst a data owner has complete control of information stored in an on-premise environment, they have limited control over this data when it resides in a cloud provided by a third party. As a result, having a close relationship with a trusted cloud provider will be crucial, as under the regulation, any data breaches must be reported within 72 hours.

To prepare for the GDPR, CIOs need to modernize their approach to data management today – this will include gaining full visibility into their entire IT infrastructure, to understand which cloud services are in use and where data is being stored.

Ultimately, data is the currency of today’s digital economy, and organizations must ensure customers, users and partners can have full confidence their data is properly used and adequately protected. Ensuring compliance with GDPR is the perfect opportunity to provide that peace of mind.