Privacy Operations Don’t Cost an Organization Money – It Saves It!
Protecting sensitive data is no longer an option for organizations – it’s something you have to do. But how you choose to manage your privacy operations is still up to you.
Organizations that aren’t using a privacy platform are missing significant savings opportunities. And more importantly, poor privacy program management leaves the organization open to risk.
The Challenges of Manual Privacy Program Management
Over the past decade the number of privacy regulations has exploded across the globe. GDPR. PIPL. LGPD. PIPC. The list goes on.
The US alone has 5 State privacy laws as of May 2022. And there are more on the way, new bills are introduced in states across the country regularly.
In addition to the increased workload to ensure compliance with new regulations, there is a shortage of privacy talent available to hire.
The combination of more laws and a shortage of employees results in bogged-down privacy operations team members.
That’s because many privacy teams are stuck using an array of digital technologies, spreadsheets, and Google sheets to manage privacy.
Performing tasks like documentation, data mapping, and meeting deadlines for regulatory reporting and DSAR requests manually is inefficient and too time-consuming.
These processes are slow, impossible to scale and expose your organization and data to risk.
For privacy operations teams in large organizations, the sheer volume of data records is a major barrier to structuring compliance with privacy laws.
Thus, the ROI of manual privacy program management leaves much to be desired.
Rather, it’s just the opposite for organizations that implement an automated privacy platform.
The Benefits of Privacy Program Management Far Outweigh the Costs
Privacy operations aren’t a cost center – it’s a profit center. Through gains in efficiency and reduced spending on outside consultants, TrustArc clients receive a $2.26 return for every $1 spent.
That’s a colossal 126% return on investment (ROI). And it doesn’t take long to start recognizing the benefits of a privacy platform either. Clients experience a payback period (the breakeven point) of less than 6 months!
In addition to drastically reducing the time to compliance, privacy platform customers reduce their risk of privacy incidents. Less risk equates to $3 million saved annually.
Eliminating inefficient manual processes, multiple data records, and compliance through spreadsheets pays off.
In just 3 years, organizations can realize $3.74 million (present value) in benefits from a privacy platform. Imagine what you could do by reinvesting those benefits into your privacy program – or any other area of your organization!
Unquantified Benefits of a Privacy Platform
Saving millions is impressive, but it’s not the only benefit of efficient privacy program management.
Global Access
Conducting meetings to discuss and approve privacy compliance is hard to manage for a global organization.
Rather than be bound by time zones, implementing a database of accessible privacy information enables timely and global access to privacy operations for all employees.
Flexibility
Based on the organization’s governance, TrustArc’s privacy platform can build a customized assessment manager.
Risk assessments for specific countries and geographies can also be added as your organization and privacy operations grow.
The Trust Factor
Complying with data privacy and consent regulations is no longer just an option.
As organizations seek out new vendors, clients, and partnerships, efficient privacy program management can be a differentiating factor.
The threat of steep fines and harm to a company’s reputation requires executives to assess the readiness and risks before entering a third-party agreement.
Proving that your organization takes privacy operations seriously can set your organization apart from the competition.
And last but not least, privacy matters to your customers. Consumer Reports found that 96% of Americans agree more should be done to ensure that companies protect the privacy of consumers.
Privacy is a Team Sport
It’s not something the IT department or Cybersecurity teams are responsible for alone.
For an organization to have efficient privacy practices, every employee must understand the importance of privacy and how they influence the program’s success.
Leaders at all levels in the organization should demonstrate a commitment to privacy.
Effective privacy operations don’t happen by accident – they happen by design. Use these best practices to embed privacy into your organization’s culture.
- Be proactive, not reactive. Anticipate invasive data privacy events before they happen and take steps to prevent them from occurring.
- Privacy is the default. Sensitive data sharing should happen only after permission has been granted – not automatically.
- Don’t treat privacy as an add-on. Embed privacy into business practices across the organization. Consider the privacy implications first to make privacy integral to the system.
