Preparing Your Business for the Impact of GDPR

The digital age we live and conduct business in necessitates putting a variety of safeguards in place. As of May 2018, corporate and small business CEOs are charged with securing their companies, employees, and consumers in a new way. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a European law governing data protection and privacy.  GDPR compliance regulates the export of personal data outside the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA). In simple English, it governs the privacy, safety, and security of the personal data of your customers.

Whew! GDPR’s intention is to give control of their personal data back to consumers by allowing them to enjoy “the right to be forgotten”, meaning businesses and corporations must delete unnecessary or inaccurate personal data upon request rather than retaining it in their data systems.

So, what does this new regulation mean for your business and how do you prepare for it? As CEO, you might assign the critical task of GDPR compliance to your IT department, but in order to make sure it’s by the final deadline and done correctly, you need to know what it is, how it functions, how it impacts your business, and why it’s important. If your business currently does, or is considering doing, business in Europe, the following steps will help ensure you’re properly aligned with the new GDPR regulations:

• Examine your current data privacy regulations for areas that need updating or upgrading
• Ensure all employees who handle sensitive personal information from your consumers are properly trained and educated on GDPR regulations
• Prioritize and budget for any changes need to come into GDPR compliance
• Create data categories to avoid lingering over data that doesn’t need to meet the regulation and maximize time on necessary updates and changes
• Review vendor contracts to ensure they’re compliant and won’t risk any mutually shared data

Although GDPR compliance is a European regulation, any business in the world who conducts digital business with European citizens must comply with it. That means if your company routinely stores consumer data like photos or credit card numbers, you’re subject to this new regulation. Hefty fines and restricted sales are two of the most important reasons to make sure your business is GDPR compliant as quickly as possible. As regulations like this one take effect, your business is faced with rethinking the way they save, store, use, share, and distribute customer data. On the upside, GDPR compliance is an opportunity to increase both corporate efficiency and data security.

At DPRINT, we take B2B and B2C data security very seriously. We’ve worked hard to establish and maintain GDPR compliance and want to provide you with the information you need to achieve and maintain that same compliance. Sign up for our Lasting Impressions by DPRINT newsletter to stay up-to-date on news you can use for CEO’s, small business owners, and digital startups. You’ll have access to much of the same information by subscribing to our blog. It’s packed with helpful information and readily available 24 hours a day.