GDPR: What is it, What it Takes to Comply, and Why You Should Care

The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, goes into full effect on May 25, 2018. Remarkably, some organizations are still processing how the regulation impacts them and determining what they need to do to comply. In fact, Gartner predicts “by May 25, 2018, less than 20% of all organizations worldwide will fully comply with the EU’s GDPR.” At its core, this regulation is designed to give citizens of the EU increased control over their personal data and reflects today’s digital world by modernizing data protection under a single set of rules. Many security experts believe this to be Europe’s most significant change to data protection laws in decades, imposing strict rules on those storing and “processing” EU personal data, anywhere in the world.

GDPR and Personal Data

Today, many aspects of our lives revolve around our personal data. Whether shopping or banking online, engaging in social media, or simply checking email, our names, addresses, phone numbers, and credit card numbers are being collected, analyzed, and stored by hundreds, if not thousands of organizations. Organizations and individuals collecting the personal data of anyone residing in any of the EU member states will be subject to the regulation and failure to comply carries a stiff financial penalty of up to €20 million or 4% of their worldwide annual revenue, whichever is higher. Some of the key privacy requirements to comply with the GDPR include:

• Obtaining consent of individuals to process their personal data

• Securely transferring data across borders

• Anonymizing collected personal data

• Notifying individuals in the event of data security breaches

• Appointing a data protection officer to oversee GDPR compliance

While using the Apttus Intelligent Middle Office Platform™ won’t ensure customers are GDPR compliant, Apttus’ solutions will help businesses address the key privacy requirements by making it easy to identify, categorize, and manage personal data. To learn about the GDPR and how Apttus can help your business on its journey to compliance, read our new white paper How Apttus Can Help You Achieve GDPR Compliance.