GDPR is Coming: The 5 Most Important Compliance Challenges

In a study on Risk Management and BPM that we conducted in July 2017, 50% of companies surveyed said their processes and systems differed across departments. Because of this, they find it difficult to get a complete view of the possible risks. Half a year later, not much has changed!

These and other survey results, as well as the corresponding risk management challenges, are very much in line with the customer feedback that we have received here at iGrafx in recent years. Therefore, it did not really surprise me that more than half of the surveyed companies find it difficult to gain complete transparency about their risks.

Furthermore, more than 60% of companies do not trust that they will be able to meet their obligations under the coming GDPR. But they should, because the new regulation is rocketing towards us – so if you do not yet have structured and transparent processes in the company, and cannot ensure consistent compliance, NOW is the time to do something about it. Make GDPR compliance a competitive advantage.

Why is it so difficult for companies to meet these challenges? And once they’ve mastered them, how can they arm themselves for future challenges, such as regulations that change over and over again?

The five challenges in compliance and risk management

The following are the five most important challenges companies face in relation to GDPR, and to regulation and risk management in general:

• Governance: Think about what measurements should be in place and how to integrate and continually improve them in your activities, standards, and values.
• People: You and your employees should understand the potential risks and repercussions of using data inappropriately. Be aware of the importance and requirements of upcoming regulations.
• Process: What influence do regulations have?  How can changes be made?  And, can you ignore the complex effects of such regulations?
• Data: Understand how you interact with customers and third parties, and secure the exchange of data with them. Create transparency and trust.
• Security: This is the basis for privacy rights. From protecting the security and confidentiality of personal information to appropriate use and access.

To address these challenges, we recommend companies to make processes transparent, and then link them to requirements and controls. Equally important is the standardization of operational processes. This allows companies to identify owners and responsibilities, and in turn associate their processes with risks and controls. Doing so allows businesses to get an overview of the relationships in the company. This provides better reporting on risks and gap analysis.

Make sure you are compliant and prepared for upcoming audits by identifying and minimizing process risks. This risk minimization, high transparency, and timely reporting are major benefits and make your business competitive. Get started with it NOW!