The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 36: April/May 2018 | Page 21

On the Tech Couch with ojo There has been much hype over the negative aspects of the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). Whilst companies will be fined if they are not compliant with the new rules and in the short-term databases may shrink, handled correctly it could bring marketers closer to their customers, allowing them to become more targeted in their approach, engaging with customers in ways they prefer with information they are interested in. Holt-based ojo solutions says businesses need to see GDPR as an opportunity for a spring clean, getting rid of duplicate data and holding information in a much more preference-led way. They argue GDPR encourages an application-centric approach which improves data security, customer centricity, data localisation, indexing and data storage. ojo invited their chosen experts onto the ojo tech couch to debate the subject. Who’s on the couch? Ed is Senior Associate and Head of Digital Media & Technology at Gregg Latchams Ed Boal Senior Associate, Gregg Latchams www.gregglatchams.com James Eades Managing Director, Systemagic www.systemagic.co.uk What is the most positive aspect of GDPR in your opinion? Ed James Jo It’s great that GDPR is causing businesses large and small to think about security and the way they handle data. It’s such an important topic these days but often overlooked by businesses as they focus on the day to day operations. At last data management and security are at the forefront of people’s minds, and the fixed deadline of 25th May gives a clear goal to work towards. Providing clients with choice and therefore creating greater customer centricity and relevance. Choice-driven communications will genuinely support the ability to build better relationships with clients. It may also encourage authenticity and integrity by companies, hopefully starting to break down negative perceptions of how data is used and encouraging greater trust by clients. Ed James Ed James Ed Jo Jo We’ve already seen clients discover that they have more data than they thought, data which has value and can be used to boost growth. By establishing procedure and process around data, organisations will ensure they maximise the output from the data they collect and hold. It is forcing organisations to ensure that data and personal information is everyone’s business rather than just a select few. It is making the entire workforce – and clients / consumers – aware of rights and of responsibilities. This can only be a positive thing when it comes to having an informed and empowered team. www.allmanhall.co.uk Ed If the GDPR is enforced effectively, it will certainly give individuals much greater protection. It will only protect companies to the extent that they observe the spirit and the letter of the GDPR in how they handle personal data. GDPR came about because of a pressing need to protect consumers. It simply isn’t right that you and I trust large companies with our data – often having no choice if we want to engage their services – and then find our information is stolen and bought/sold. I think it’s fantastic that the EU and our Government has taken clear action to protect us from this. James As a regulated law firm, we have always maintained robust data protection policies and procedures. However, we have had to review how we explain our processing activities to clients and other stakeholders to ensure clarity. We are reviewing the way we capture and hold data on our clients and also, more importantly, how we communicate with them how we will be providing them with information and using their data. We are also heavily involving all of the internal team in this, rather than limiting it to our Salesforce administrators and marketing team as has historically been the case. Lastly, we are changing the way we think about how we communicate with and hold data on each other – the employee personal / sensitive information element of this shouldn’t be forgotten and for a B2B organisation such as ourselves it is the main area of impact. As a tech service provider it will impact the discussions we have with our clients – it will ensure that we continue to take a consultative approach to designing IT solutions and that data and security are at the forefront. Nathan Baranowski Director, ojo solutions www.ojosolutions.com Do you think GDPR will inspire innovation? I think it will. We have already seen many suppliers implement changes to their offerings to facilitate compliance by their customers and a number of new solutions emerge for managing personal data. Hopefully – there are some amazing opportunities for creative tech companies to help businesses of all sizes to manage their data without it becoming an onerous chore. James Ed How will the introduction of GDPR impact the way you work? Will sharpening up data storage empower organisations? Absolutely. The GDPR is fundamentally about holding your business to the highest data governance and information management standards that you can. Better quality data mitigates a number of the risks under the GDPR, can reduce administration costs and provide more valuable outputs. Jo Hall Head of Marketing & Communications Data breaches have led to a lot of TALK TALK in recent years, with brand and reputational damage at the heart of the debate. Do you think GDPR will protect both companies and consumers? The GDPR is a long overdue wake-up call which recognises the importance of our fundamental right to privacy and the protection of our personal data in modern society. The essential function of the GDPR is to promote trust and confidence. Nathan is director at ojo solutions, transforming organisations through technology Jo oversees the marketing strategy for Allmanhall, specialists in food, catering and housekeeping procurement James heads up IT support, cloud and internet services firm Systemagic James Jo What changes are you currently making? The main focus for us has been reviewing agreements with third party processors to ensure that they meet the GDPR’s requirements, reviewing our fair processing (privacy) notices and training staff. We’ve made sure our own systems are in tip- top shape, including having gained the Cyber Essentials certification. We’ve trained our staff in security and data protection and are busy helping clients to become Cyber Essentials certified themselves. Creation of SOPs (standard operating procedures) and policies is our current focus. We are very aware that it is important to have revised and compliant processes in place as penalties exist for failing to do so, rather than simply be susceptible to a forfeit if a breach does occur. The ojo view GDPR is a huge opportunity for us all to think about what we store and why. To re-engage with our customers and those we want to attract, enabling us all to really think about who we want to speak with, why and how we best do that. It is also an opportunity to open up new services and think about how the data you hold can be effectively used to support your customers. We have already seen services that allo w you to scape Amazon Web Services (AWS) to find out if you have information held on there. It would not surprise me if we see data innovation services and apps that begin to aggregate data that companies subscribe too, enabling you to have a digital passport and take ownership of your data. Want to join ojo on the next Tech Couch? Or do you have a question to ask our tech experts? If so, get in touch. Drop us a line, give us a call or tweet us using the hashtag: #makingtechnologywork Email: [email protected] Call: 01225 300043 For more info: www.ojosolutions.com @ojosolutions THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2018 21