What do Exeter businesses need to get in line with data compliance?

As businesses acclimatise to the new working normal, one issue rearing its head is compliance. Exeter businesses have been getting on board with regulatory change, but further change is on the way. The BBC report that the EU has granted certain data protection statuses to the UK, with the caveat of a clearly stated ‘sunset clause’ that will mean businesses need to get their houses in order over the next three years. Exeter businesses, more and more of which are shifting into the digital sector, must adapt to continue to grow.

A unified basis

Underpinning any modern digital strategy for business should be a unified front. Having all of your compliance measures and issues underlined with one GDPR and ICO compliant system will enable you to ensure your data is properly protected. Data protection experts MirrorWeb highlights the benefit of such an approach; mainly, that you can put safeguards in place to ensure that no part of your data retention policy will breach data protection rules. Even the biggest companies are prone to making errors - Wired notes that even Amazon was not immune from feeling the force of data regulations, and small businesses should not take protections for granted either.

New regulations

As Britain starts to create a new course of legislation, this will impact on how your business communicates. This is especially pertinent in the public sector, and where the private/public sector has an overlap - which can be more common than you think. The ICO has published a set of rules and guidance to help businesses navigate this interface. How you collect and distribute data, and then use that for your marketing and other public communications, will be constrained and defined by data protection protocols and regulations. Being ahead of this, and knowing where risks and potential problems lie, will aid you further down the line and ensure you are treating customers correctly.

Rising risk?

It’s a good time for businesses to get smart about their compliance habits. According to British law paper The Law Gazette, many home working legal firms have been entirely neglecting their data protection priorities. If even businesses within the legal sector aren’t protecting their data in a fully compliant way, this will give a nod to potential shortcomings in other sectors. Of course, it might be that your business doesn’t collect or use the data that falls under GDPR regulations - that, of course, will make the task easier. However, it’s always wise to seek advice first and ensure that you’re doing the right thing for your business and for your customers.

As the ICO produces more rules and guidelines, businesses should make a concerted effort to meet them. This is the easiest way to ensure digital data compliance and regulatory measures are met, and will help your business to keep running smoothly and in the best interests of all parties. Ultimately, that means growth and reputational gain.