The problem with using a big stick to beat SMEs out of their complacency is that there has been proportionately much less talk about the tangible business benefits that becoming GDPR-compliant can bring. The real spur for adopting the principles of the regulation isn’t to avoid punishment, but the fact it can make your business more efficient, secure, responsive and customer-focused. 

Streamlining data

“Rather than a costly administrative hurdle, GDPR should be seen as an opportunity for small businesses to get their houses in order and create operational efficiencies,” says Jonathan Wood of security company C2 Cyber. 

For example, the regulation requires businesses to know precisely what information they hold on people, but once you’ve done the necessary data audit and clean-up, you’ll see other benefits. 

“We work with a number of online retailers and one company had a CRM [customer relationship management] database of 30 million customers, five million of whom turned out to be deceased. Having cleaned up its database and introduced processes to keep it up-to-date, not only can the company now ensure it is GDPR compliant, it’s also saving a small fortune in direct marketing costs such as printing, design and communications,” says Wood.

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.computerweekly.com