GDPR will affect your business – are you ready?

Published: 30 May 2018

 

The new European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) protection framework kicked in on 25 May 2018 – and some businesses are possibly still unaware of how the new regulations will affect them.

Stuart Pearce, Managing Director of tdglobal, highlights the fact that business today is undertaken on a global platform. “This means data – and personal privacy - must comply with regulatory requirements wherever it may be accessed across the globe. This compliance is another reason it’s so important to have a digital team that understands what clean, usable data is.”

The Fintech sector and other large organisations have been preparing for GDPR for some time, and Pearce says enterprises currently working on their digital transformation programmes must note that the technologies they use – including AI, Internet of Things (IoT), cloud, mobile and big data - may present challenges to compliance if risks aren’t fully understood and managed.

 

Fierce fines, reputation damage

“Reports indicate that GDPR demands far more transparency and accountability from all organisations that deal with personal data than has been required up to now. The penalty for data breaches is fierce, with fines of up €20 million, or 4% of a company’s annual global turnover – whichever is higher.

“Add this cost to the fact that authorities will apparently have the right to publicise the details of the breach, leading to untold damages to reputation, and the price may be too high for many companies to handle,” Pearce says.

Organisations today are dealing with a combination of systems, technology and the human element, which Pearce asserts makes it more important than ever to engage highly experienced teams in a digital transformation or digitisation journey.

“From having to prove to customers that they gave you consent to use their data, to accidental malicious breaches on your employees own devices (BYOD), cybersecurity and the protection of data is vital to the health and longevity of your business. It really is that important.”

Contact tdglobal now to speak to the team that can help you meet all the requirements your path to digitisation requires.