GDPR: A Path to Digital Transformation
With only a couple of days left until the General Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into effect on May 25th, there is still a lot of discussion, debate and confusion around the impact the new regulations will have on organisations – both European and otherwise. And Gartner predicts that less than half of all organisations will be fully compliant by D-day.
But with every challenge there is opportunity. The advent of GDPR heralds a time of transition and transformation, as organisations assess their current technology strategies, in order to maintain compliance. In Part Two of our GDPR Blog Series, we broached the idea that a hybrid cloud environment could provide two key elements. The control that organisations are looking for to be compliant, along with the flexibility that they need to remain ahead of the game in a competitive marketplace.
Organisations are now faced with a choice. They can merely implement “tick in the box” measures that ensure compliance – or they can take the opportunity to change to innovate. 2018’s catchphrase of the year has been “digital transformation”. Digital services need to be secure, reliable and scalable, all attributes that a cloud foundation can provide – if done the right way.
Private and hybrid cloud environments can provide the opportunity for greater security, with the ability for sensitive data to remain on-premises, while non-critical data is processed and stored off site. With the approach of GDPR this option of providing a balance between control and flexibility is gaining more and more traction.
In fact, a recent report by Forrester suggests that European organisations are looking at hybrid cloud as a better approach to conquer both their digital transformation and GDPR headaches.
It makes sense then, to look at the wider benefits of hybrid and multi-cloud solutions.
GDPR will have a radical impact on each step of business strategy. A well designed and documented cloud strategy is – or should -form part of an integrated, holistic and future-proofed vision that will take a business forward and give them a competitive advantage.
GDPR no doubt will force change on many organisations, as they look at the technology that will help reduce their risks. The digital transformation strategy that many would like to implement is often compromised because of the potential pain of change management. When that change management is forced through legislation such as GDPR, it makes sense to take full advantage and review the business and technology strategy.
There has been a common knee-jerk reaction to simply stop dealing with those users or customers who may place an organisation under the watchful eye of GDPR. But if you really take a close look, GDPR is a driver to enable more digital activity, not less. GDPR will allow an organisation to build greater trust and manage a better customer experience.
IT is growing closer to the business, and senior IT executives have stronger and better aligned relationships with other lines of business. New technology can be embraced in order to create real business value. At the end of the day, this is what digital transformation is essentially about.
Inevitably, digital initiatives lead IT executives to focus on cloud technologies. The opportunity lies in building a trusted cloud with standards that help achieve “privacy by design” and “security by design”, the key elements of both cloud and GDPR compliance.
For those who can look beyond the short-term pain of simply achieving compliance and see the long-term benefits for their business, there are many rewards. Data-driven businesses are the new norm. Cloud technology provides a platform to access and use data in ways to drive business value and GDPR compliance drives trust. Organisations that implement a strategy that sees both cloud and compliance hand-in-hand, stand to enjoy the greatest success.
About Qirx in a Box
Qirx in a Box is a solution that helps businesses to train, design, develop and fully document their hybrid cloud environments, making it easy to build in the underlying principles of “privacy by design” and “security by design” that are a crucial part of the GDPR. The documentation set that is easily built out using Qirx in a Box can help demonstrate due process in the event of a data breach.
For further information on the GDPR and how Qirx in a Box can help your organisation watch the following short video and contact us for more.better
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