Venkat Ramasamy, Chief Operating Officer, FileCloud in this article explains about the restrictive policies around data control are not only a way to control intellectual property, but a way for countries to bring tech giants under their legislative control. Given the clear incentives, we can expect that the trend will not only continue but pick up speed.
The wave, in motion, is unstoppable and businesses will have to shift their priorities to account for the new climate surrounding data. Data control is the way of the future, and any company that deals with customer data will have to innovate accordingly.
At the beginning of 2020, another significant data privacy law goes into effect in California. The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) carries with it some of the strictest penalties to date for companies that lose control of customers’ personal information. Companies have already seen millions of dollars in fines from Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation, and will be watching closely to see who becomes the first victim of California’s latest act.
Enterprises are on notice: the freewheeling, lawless environment where customers didn’t think twice about what was happening to their data has come to an end. For end-users, these new privacy laws have put a spotlight on the shocking ways in which data has been used (and sometimes abused), and subsequently ushered in a new era of awareness and concern.
Learn More: Data Retention: What the Law Says, And What Companies Should DoOpens a new window
Following Suit
Other countries have raced to follow the EU’s suit, enacting restrictive data protection of their own. Brazil has already implemented a new General Data Protection LawOpens a new window . China just released the final version of its new data privacy standardsOpens a new window . India and Canada are exploring their own regulations.
While the moral imperative is often emphasized as the impetus for these initiatives, there is another undisclosed motivation at hand: restrictive policies are not only a way to control intellectual property, but a way for other countries to bring U.S.-based tech giants under their legislative control.
Given the clear incentives, we can expect that the trend will not only continue but pick up speed. The wave, in motion, is unstoppable and businesses will have to shift their priorities to account for the new climate surrounding data. Data control is the way of the future, and any company that deals with customer data will have to innovate accordingly.
The Move to Highlight Data Control
Businesses that prioritized speed, power consumption and accessibility are now adding granular data control to their list of essentials when it comes to evaluating software solutions. As businesses weigh the age-old question of whether to build or buy enterprise software, the ability to safely capture and store data will become an important factor in calculating that equation correctly.
In today’s world, customers are becoming hyperaware of what companies are doing with their data. Even in countries where data protection regulations aren’t yet in place, user seeds of doubt can have big impacts on a company’s bottom line.
For a case study in what could go wrong, companies don’t have to look any further than former tech darlings Facebook and Google. Once seen as selfless giants working to support connection, education and the greater good, the revelation of how these corporate giants have been collecting and handling dataOpens a new window is starting to make users question their former undying loyalties. That change in reputation has had very real implications: the hashtag “#DeleteFacebook†trended after data concerns were raised, and data concerns drove a sharp drop in the company’s stock price.
Companies that do not want to suffer the same fate must inoculate themselves against blowback by shoring up their ability to transparently control and report on data before it’s too late.
Learn More: Transforming Work and Life with a Dynamic Blend of Big IdeasOpens a new window
Multiple Levels of Control
For companies that are lagging, getting up to speed on data control isn’t always a quick fix. It will require deep thinking on how to build data control into their applications and solutions on multiple levels, while keeping several important big-picture goals in mind: compliance, geo-restrictive capabilities, scalability and the ability to reduce friction.
Businesses must maintain the ability to report back to individuals on what data is captured and stored. Users want control over how their data can and cannot be accessed.
For service providers, geo-restrictive capabilities are a critical offering to ensuring the safe handling of data. A defense contractor, for example, may have a requirement that an application can’t be accessible from somewhere like China.
Beyond control, scalability and the reduction of friction are other areas that keep applications and solutions relevant. Companies must maintain seamless use processes that allow users the convenience they have become accustomed to. In the future, this means more granular data control.
Learn More: Translating Big Data Trends into Useful SolutionsOpens a new window
A Data Control Strategy is No Longer Optional
Data control can no longer be a sidebar of business strategy. Instead, it must be part of core functionality. Between following the law and maintaining user confidence, there is no other way forward.
Technology will only continue to push abilities to new boundaries and empower us like never before — but only if there is trust. And data control is the transparent key that will usher us into the future.
Let us know if you liked this article on LinkedInOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , or FacebookOpens a new window . We would love to hear from you!