Data Privacy Day a chance for resellers to stress trust

On the occasion of Data Privacy Day the message for the channel is that resellers could gain an advantage if they can demonstrate secure information management and gain customer trust.

The timing of privacy day comes at a point where data is exploding and seen by many vendors as the driving force behind many storage, security and management tool purchases.

The European Commission set the whole thing up back in 2006 to shine a light on data privacy and issued a statement underlining the importance of the topic: "Data is becoming increasingly important for our economy and for our daily lives. With the roll-out of 5G and uptake of the Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things technologies, personal data will be in abundance and with potential uses we probably can't imagine. While this offers amazing opportunities, some cases show that robust rules are needed to address clear risks for individuals and for our democracies.”

Others agreed that the amount of data was increasing rapidly and there were challenges for customers and partners keeping up with the rate of growth.

“The amount of data produced in the world each day is incredible. Over 2.5 quintillion bytes of storable information is developed every 24 hours — and the pace, and value, of this will only increase with the rise of automation and digitalised technologies," said Barry Cook, Privacy and group data protection officer at visa services player VFS Global.

“Although we may not appreciate it, personal information has become a prime commodity in our global economy. It provides a snapshot of our day-to-day lives and can be used by organisations for targeted advertising and for determining the future behaviours of consumers. So, ensuring it is sufficiently protected, and shielded from potential misuse, is key," he added.

For the channel the key is going to be building trust and gaining the confidence of customers that any data that they handle is going to be secure.

“Consumer demands are changing, and businesses are operating in a global market. Therefore, companies are looking for ways to differentiate themselves and, as a result, are increasingly focusing on personalising their offering," said Rufus Grig, chief strategy officer of Maintel. "But all of this personalisation requires one key element – data."

“Throughout 2020, companies would be well advised to undertake a trust building exercise and ensure their customers that data is being kept secure and the company is following best practice. We will see more and more companies explaining why they need certain data, how they intend to use it, how the customer could benefit and, of course, how all this information will be stored securely. If somebody understands why certain information is being collected and how this data will be used, they are much more likely to trust a business," he added.

The expectations is that the focus on the ability of suppliers to handle data is going to increase as GDPR fines start to bite and the fears of a breach become more widespread. In a blog post Forrester senior analyst Enza Iannopollo outlined some of the trends in the data privacy world and touched on the importance of channel providers being on top of the issue.

"Third parties that don’t follow the same privacy policies [the customer does] can destroy not only your privacy program, but also your brand, your customers’ trust, and your partner ecosystem. From vendors to subcontractors to data suppliers to the partners you share data with, it’s evident that third-party risk has far-reaching implications for privacy," she wrote.