Considering the large investment needed to meet the GDPR regulation companies should act smarter. Of course becoming compliant is still the number one goal, but it should not be the only goal to be reached. GDPR and Digital Experience have more in common than it may initially appear. Both are about empowering the customer. This blog highlights the need to combine these two topics to achieve a better return on investment.
High level of symbiosis
Although these topics seem completely different they do have major similarities.
- One similarity is already mentioned; customer empowerment.
- A second similarity is transparency. In other words, giving the customer insight in his/her own actions and the possible results of them.
- And the third one is about ownership.
The difference lies in the perspective. Digital Experience is about the companies’ view on the individual, while GDPR is all about the privacy of the individual.
Both the similarities and the differences are equally important in making the combination work. This can best be explained using some examples.
Some tangible opportunities for synergizing
Below are three examples easily demonstrating how mandatory regulatory initiative as GDPR can actually drive the realization of the improved digital experience.
- The first example is on customer empowerment; providing the customer with options to select the services he or she wants and determine how the relevant personal data is used. Or, from a privacy perspective, let the customer register his or her consent on all data processing services as required.
- The second example is on transparency; making clear what type of data is consumed and what it’s intended use is, and how do you enable customers to easily turn on/off specific data usages?
- The third example is on ownership; how do you want to be perceived by the company you are customer of? In other words what personal information do you want the company to have, or from the viewpoint of the company what does the company need and what can be left out or expunged?
These three examples show that GDPR and Digital Experience can easily be combined leading to a higher return on investment.
Turning regulatory compliance into business opportunity
It’s imperative that the enterprises start seeing regulatory compliance, considering the associated cost tag usually involved, as opportunities for business advancement. It’s important that various stakeholders engage in formulating benefits from others stakeholder’s point of view. The IT organization needs to think about the business development, the Legal organization needs to think about the Customer (experience) and the Business leaders need to think about opportunities to modernize the IT estate. Very often such thinking fails especially in larger enterprises, due to capacity, priority challenges, silo modes, lack of clear ownership and sometimes simply due to lack of vision that any regulation can be transformed into business opportunity. This especially is where Devoteam helps those companies in navigating, executing and realizing smart return on investment.
Simply put, when implementing the GDPR, do not focus only on the basic compliance demand. Rather start implementing the novel thoughts behind the GDPR itself focusing on empowering ourselves to be masters of our personal data. Providing transparency that will boost the reputation of your company and at the same time deliver significant Digital Experience enrichment.