GDPR Compliance

What is GDPR?

As the economy becomes increasingly digitised, companies hold vast quantities of personal information. This form of data is considered high risk due to the implications a breach may have. A data breach could, for example, result in a person’s name, address and other personal details being made publicly available. 

GDPR was developed in response to these concerns, as a means to specify how consumer data should be used and protected. GDPR came into force on the 25th May 2018. It replaced the existing data protection framework under the EU Data Protection Directive. All organisations involved in the control of or the processing of personal data are affected by the regulation.

The GDPR significantly increases the obligations and responsibilities for organisations in how they collect, use and protect personal data. Organisations and businesses need to be fully transparent about how they are using and safeguarding personal data. Additionally, they need to be able to demonstrate accountability for their data processing activities.

The Data Protection Commissioner currently has the ability to fine companies who are found in breach of the existing guidelines, the GDPR significantly bolsters these fines: non-compliant companies may be subject to fines of up 4% of global turnover or €20 million – whichever is greater.

How does the GDPR Impact your business?

Irrespective of where your business is located, any entity that uses or holds personal data on those within the EU will be captured by the new regulation. This means that if your company is located in the US but has customers in the EU you will need to be GDPR compliant.

The GDPR is the latest step in the ongoing global recognition of the value and importance of personal information. The increase of cyber theft on personal data continually exposes consumers and companies to significant risks. Technological advancements coupled with concerns regarding the misuse of personal data has resulted in the passing of this new law.

Organisations that act quickly will be those that thrive in the evolving regulatory environment.

How can we help?

Companies need to prepare themselves for the upcoming regulatory changes. They need to devise comprehensive compliance strategies. This is where we can help. We have always guided our clients on data protection and our team of data protection experts are highly skilled in maintaining clean, structured and compliant databases.

With GDPR representing the greatest shift in data protection law in over 20 years, we are here to help you ensure continued compliance and avoid any potential breaches.

Unsure as to whether or not you are compliant? We have built a free-to-use online GDPR assessment tool that you can use to determine your preparation progress to date. We have also published a series of blogs which aim to address some of your most pressing GDPR queries. You can find these under our ‘blog’ section.