The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is playing on every IT Director’s mind. Which means it should be on yours, too. Businesses wanting to get their telecoms infrastructure ready for the May 25th, 2018 deadline will need all the help they can get from their suppliers.
The most notable impact the GDPR will have on your customers will be the two-tiered penalty structure that could see them fined up to €20 million in the event of non-compliance. Any sensible business should be willing to spend a lot of money to ensure they don’t get caught out like that. This means it’ll be your chance to show off your best GDPR-compliant-friendly products and services.
We look into the challenges it poses for your customers and how you may be able to assist…
Guaranteed compliance will be a differentiator
Under the GDPR, organisations are responsible for ensuring that their suppliers are also compliant with the regulations. Being able to guarantee that your service meets the requirements of the legislation will give customers peace of mind.
That said, GDPR accreditation as such does not yet exist. The ICO is encouraging industry sectors to create their own codes of conduct, which they will then approve.
Action: Get in front of this – seek out industry bodies or other channel resellers and try to put a GDPR code of conduct in place.
Greater data control capabilities will be necessary
The GDPR gives individuals wide-ranging control over their personal data. They must explicitly opt-in to having their data collected by organisations and must be informed what it will be used for. They can request to have incorrect data changed or deleted entirely. Businesses will be looking to suppliers like you to provide a technical framework to facilitate these capabilities.
Action: A self-service data system for end-users could be a possible solution for this data issue. Find out how SIP trunking can give your customers more control over their telecoms.
Rapid response times will be crucial
Another key provision of the legislation is that organisations must notify the relevant data protection authority no more than 72 hours after a data breach occurs. As such, your customers will be looking for a provider that can promise robust, rapid notification procedures in the event of an attack.
Action: Stress test your security software to make sure you can identify breaches swiftly. Review the way you notify customers of issues to make sure they’re up to speed.
It’s an opportunity, not a crisis
With a whole raft of regulatory requirements and the potential for severe punishments if they’re not met, it might seem like there’s an awful lot at stake with the GDPR. But for channel resellers, it’s a huge opportunity. If you can provide customers with the products and services that they know will keep them on top of the regulations, they will flock to you. In essence, building trust isn’t just good for data best practice – there are huge commercial benefits to be had as well.
Download our factsheet to get a detailed explanation of the EU GDPR, helpful insights into the legislation and practical examples of how it will apply.
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