Privacy Automation 101: Control User Data and Increase ROI

Businesses today have unprecedented access to personal data.

Machine learning and AI have enabled companies to collect and analyze data from their users like never before. Using this data can improve the customer experience, help make better business decisions, and streamline internal business processes.

Data processing entails a great responsibility for companies. They must comply with legal regulations (such as GDPR, CCPA, etc.) and fully protect and secure user data. Affordable privacy software with efficient processes strengthens a company's ability to comply more efficiently and offers automated workflows, which saves time and money, ultimately producing a better return on investment (ROI).

What is Privacy Automation?

Privacy automation automatically facilitates all tasks involving your customers' personal data. Essentially, this means performing privacy tasks with little or no human intervention, saving time and effort.

These tasks typically include:

Handling customer data privacy requests (e.g. deletion or copy requests) Government and regulatory compliance Data mapping Consent management and cookie tracking Vendor Risk Assessment Provide transparency and choice

Companies manage data privacy in two typical ways: manual or automated.

In a world where businesses process huge amounts of information or big data, it is clear that managing this information through automation is much more efficient than processing it manually.

Let's look at some of the reasons for this.

A manual approach to privacy, plain and simple, slows things down. For example, when a company receives a data privacy request, the process typically begins with user verification, reviewing all data sources one by one, which may include personally identifiable information (PII ), taking the appropriate action, and then closing the request.

The process is long and usually requires time and energy to extract different sets of information from various data sources within a company's internal operations.

While it's true that manually handling privacy requests can lead to better data control, there are very few benefits beyond that. Indeed, this process could pose serious legal and financial problems for a company.

Manually managing data privacy is problematic because:

It's time consuming It's not a profitable use of an employee's time. It's often overwhelming This allows more human error

But this process can be automated and integrated with your existing data sources, becoming one of the most effective tactics a business can use to manage privacy.

Why is privacy automation important?

There are several reasons why you need to start considering privacy automation. Read on to find out.

Turn time into profit

There may be a significant time difference between manual and automated processing of privacy requests. Many organizations are unable to respond to Data Subject Requests (DSRs) in a timely manner and with the level of detail desired.

In addition to the extra time, those involved in handling privacy requests may find the process difficult and costly without technology. Time and money aside, privacy automation can also help your brand. One of the most effective ways to build trust is through consistency. You can set user expectations by automating how you handle privacy requests or control your data sources.

That same consistency is also great for creating better internal processes. Automation can help develop a schedule for handling privacy requests and managing data inventory to meet privacy regulations. This can help you manage and allocate your resources more efficiently.

For example, let's say it takes you 1-3 days to respond to a Data Subject Access Request (DSAR), or in other words, a request from a user to provide them with a copy of their information from your data sources. Knowing this timeframe will help you allocate and manage your resources more efficiently.

Turn focus into more profits

Those using an automated privacy management platform can respond to large amounts of DSRs quickly and...