Since it officially launched 30 days ago, the news has been abuzz with speculations about GDPR. About what it means for Europe, what it could mean for the U.S., and how the written regulations will be carried out in practice.

With decades of experience in this space, our experts had a few thoughts to share about what GDPR means now, and where the focus for companies wanting to comply should be.

Here are five GDPR takeaways, according to the experts:

1

“If you are not fully compliant, you are not alone. Studies show many organizations, particularly outside of Europe, are not GDPR compliant. However, a little effort goes a long way. Most regulators know that organizations won’t necessarily be fully compliant, but they are looking for an initial level of maturity. And that maturity can be built upon.”

-Jason Cropper, VP of Business Development

2

“Many companies didn’t really know what the GDPR journey was going to consist of before they started, so they’ve been laser focused on just becoming compliant – somehow, anyhow!

‘Many of these businesses now realise that the way they operate to maintain compliance is simply not sustainable. It’s too expensive/resource intensive and it involves too much manual effort, which is error-prone and difficult to track. These businesses will be hunting for more efficient (and lower cost) ways of maintaining GDPR compliance. Largely, of course, through the use of tech.”

-Mark Delgado, General Manager, EMEA and APAC

3

“The biggest focus now is to make everyone aware of what they need to do. We also have a heavy communications focus and are really trying to make our employees – and our clients – aware. We have the GDPR Resource Hub to help communicate these changes to our clients.”

-Dakota Wright, Security Analyst II

4

“Most consider GDPR a huge burden, but as with many compliance obligations and risks, it presents an opportunity. Data Privacy is one of the hottest topics for consumers, and it has been growing for years. Those that embrace GDPR have significant bragging rights. They are embracing and complying GDPR because they are an ethical company that cares about their clients.”

-Jason Cropper, VP of Business Development

5

“Wherever you are on your [GDPR] journey, two tools can help you ensure your ongoing compliance program efforts are effective and structured. These tools involve implementing policy management and information governance solutions.”

-Jonathan Dedman, Senior Sales Consultant

Looking for more info on GDPR? Here are some helpful resources: 

Policy Management in the Context of GDPR

Take Charge of G** D@m% Protection Regulation (GDPR) with Legal Workflow Automation