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GDPR Tech Prep: 5 Steps for Compliance Today

By the end of 2018, more than 50 percent of businesses affected by GDPR will not be fully compliant with the new law, according to Gartner.

For many businesses, simply investing in the right technology and practices could be the nudge needed to keep them in line with the law.

In this blog post, we’ll be discussing what IT efforts you can do today to ensure you stay GDPR compliant.

1. Be aware

Making sure you’re aware of the legal and business implications of GDPR is essential. Before you can start making changes to your data policies, systems and efforts, you need to understand the basics.

The key changes in the data regulation that you must consider are:

• The sharing of your data. Your sensitive, personal customer information must be portable and alterable. If your customers want to change or delete their data, they’re legally allowed to ask you to do so.
• Your security. Rather than patching on security at the last minute, the new data regulations state that you must create systems with security embedded in their design. Additionally, security and data handling best practices must be embedded into your policies.
• Reporting and transparency. You are legally obligated to notify your customers and the authorities of a breach within 72 hours. Your organisation must also have a PIA that oversees data processes.

Most of these changes are technological in nature and, as a result, can be managed with a mixture of robust IT products, solid policies and expertise.

2. Start assessing your systems

Now that you’re aware of what GDPR is about, you can begin to fill in potential loopholes. Conducting an audit of your IT efforts can help you to identify where your business is falling short in your systems, processes and access controls. It can also help your business to gauge whether you’re fully prepared for the GDPR deadline or not.

3. Enlist the right tools

Having the right technology is key to keeping your processes compliant and avoiding costly legal repercussions. An assessment will help you to uncover any problematic areas of your data processing, such as portability, threat detection and accessibility, but it’s up to you to find the solutions to tackle these problems.

With the GDPR deadline looming closer, now is the time to invest in robust, secure technology and advanced analytics to help you stay compliant.

4. Train your employees

Now that you’ve educated yourself on what GDPR is and the steps you may have to take to reach compliancy, it’s time you think about training your employees. Whether you want to attend a specialist event, webcast or enlist an IT provider for some hands-on training, it’s important that your entire team knows the GDPR best practices for the sake of your business and customers.

5. Seek professional help

If you’re struggling to understand the ins and outs of data regulation, and feel as though you can’t carry the weight of transforming your business alone, it may be time to seek the help of a GDPR-educated IT provider.

With the right partner by your side, you’ll be able to tackle GDPR confidently.

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