5 Tips to Ensure Your Business is GDPR Compliant
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect on May 25, 2018. It is the European Union’s (EU) revised regulation on personal datageared to ensure that organisations uphold the privacy of EU citizens in this dynamic digital economy.
When you need customer data to run your business, customers should understand why and how the data is used so they can decide on whether to take up the service.
GDPR compliance doesn’t only apply to EU businesses. Even if your business isn’t physically located within the EU, it must comply provided it handles personal data of EU citizens. Otherwise, you risk hefty penalties that can take a toll on your business.
So, how can you ensure that your business is GDPR compliant?
While there’s no one-fits-all solution, here are some valuable tips to ensure your business is GDPR compliant.
Perform a Gap Analysis
Conducting a gap analysis is helpful in determining where exactly your business is already in compliance. A gap analysis will reveal the existing compliance program trends within your organisation. It will also identify the areas that need attention and steps that should be taken to ensure full compliance.
This analysis can provide the basis for developing a comprehensive compliance strategy that will outline what is effective and recommend various improvements.
Check What Other Businesses are Doing
GDPR has no laid out procedures that every business must follow. Therefore, different businesses will devise different tactics to ensure that data is in compliance without compromising user experience.
Many companies created new features in the run-up to the May 2018 deadline for GDPR compliance. You can check your competitors’ websites for the best GDPR compliance practices for your industry. Also, consider consulting reputable IT consultancy London companies for more ideas.
Leverage Automation
GDPR compliance requires substantial investment not only in terms of money but also time and effort. That means manually performing every IT task required to achieve complete compliance would be extremely difficult. It may be virtually impossible for large organisations.
An easier approach is to automate these IT tasks. This will save time and eliminate errors. Automation also ensures greater security and easier maintenance of GDPR networking.
Create GDPR Awareness with Your Organization
It is imperative that everyone within your company knows what GDPR means for them making GDPR training for your staff essential.
Moreover, you should implement information security and data protection policies that explain what personal data is and the need to keep it secure and protected. Be sure that everyone understands what they can and can’t do with data and the consequences of non-compliance.
In Conclusion
Organisations should be aware of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and understand that regardless of where they are located, the regulation affects them if they do business with EU citizens or organisations. They should also realise that non-compliance can result in hefty financial penalties and a damaged reputation. Nonetheless, ensuring compliance can be as easy as following the above tips.
