In its essence, the GDPR is driven by the rise in connected technology and organisations of all shapes and sizes who are now in possession of more customer information than ever before.
The Data Protection Act of 1998 was created at a time before smart-phones and social media existed and so an update to the practices surrounding personal data was long overdue. The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the result of four years of work to bring data protection legislation in line with the many ways that data is now intertwined with our daily lives as consumers and professionals.
As the amount of personal data collected and held by organisations rises, so does the responsibility for its secure storage and ethical use. Regulators recognised that the existing laws were insufficient to manage the rapid evolution of data application and privacy in an increasingly fast-paced digital landscape. In response, the EU drafted the GDPR, a new set of comprehensive regulations, which was adopted by the European Parliament and Council in April 2016 and became directly applicable in member states from 25th May 2018.
Our Global Data Management Research 2018 found that over 80% of businesses recognise the opportunity data can bring to forming their strategy and almost three quarters also admit that it’s difficult to predict where the next data challenge is coming from. Whilst many organisations are finding that increasing volumes of data can make it difficult to meet regulatory requirements, 75% have seen a return on investment from the data quality solutions they have used within their business.
For businesses around the world who hold EU citizen data, we believe the GDPR will prove to create positive opportunities for organisations to evaluate and improve the management of their data and increase its value.