SAS Survey: Organizations are Faced with GDPR Compliance Challenges

In May 2018, the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will make organizations responsible for data protection. Also, they will be accountable for storing and processing data within the organization. According to a recent survey from top business analytics, SAS, more than half (58%) claimed that their organizations are not aware of the punishment for noncompliance. Less than half (45%) indicate that their organizations have a structured plan in place for compliance.

The Principal Business Solutions Manager, SAS, Arturo Salazar emphasized that many organizations are confused on how to begin their journey to become a GDPR compliant.

Summary of the survey include:

  • Many respondents think that GDPR will positively influence their organization. Also, about 42% of the respondents feel that their organizations are not familiar with this impact.
  • Just 45% of organizations have a unique structured process in place to act in accordance with GDPR. Only 66% of the respondents believed that this process could result in successful compliance. Also, many acknowledge that they don’t know if they are GDPR compliant.
  • Large organizations are well equipped to manage GDPR. About 54% are fully aware of the impact, compared to 37% of small organizations.
  • Just 24% of organizations followed the external consulting process to become GDPR compliant. 34% of organizations with the structured process in place make use of external consulting regularly.
  • Only 26% of organizations are familiar with the influence of GDPR. It is the lowest of any industry sector.

 

Data accessibility and the right to be forgotten
Individuals have the right to ask for their data ported to another organization or erased under the GDPR compliance. This can lead to questions about the tools and process organizations must have in place. About 48% of the respondents claimed that it is challenging to get personal data from their databases. In these cases, it will be more difficult to comply with GDPR regulations.

According to the organizations, only 58% encountered problems in managing data access and the right to be forgotten. Controlling the right to use personal data is a serious problem. Many financial institutions and large organization find it difficult to stored personal data.

Advantages of GDPR
When asked concerning the advantages of GDPR, only 71% claimed that their data governance would improve. The survey indicates that 37% of organizations believe that their information technology facility will improve if they comply and 30% claim that complying with the GDPR will enhance their organizations. Also, many organizations think that customer will benefit a lot from the compliance efforts. The survey indicates that only 29% of organizations believe that customers’ satisfaction will increase when they comply with GDPR compliance. Another 29% think that their organization’s external value propositions will get better.