Why Data Protection Officers (DPO) are now a need - not a luxury.

Data is big business. And protecting that data is even bigger. Since the implementation of the Data Protection Act 2018, the UK has seen a surge in searches for DPOs. But what exactly is a DPO, what is their role in businesses and how can ADNS act as your DPO to reduce your IT-related risk?

What is a DPO?

A DPO, or Data Protection Officer to give them their full title, is a data protection expert who is responsible for ensuring that their business is compliant with data protection rules as laid out by the relevant data protection authorities.

An often misunderstood role, a DPO may previously have been thought to be a ‘side role’ given to someone already working for the company. However with the change in data protection legislation that came with the 2018 regulations, DPO has become such a staple of business’ IT-services that it’s rare to see a business without a dedicated DPO in place in 2024.

What is the role of a DPO?

With the rise in DPO in businesses, the position has its own clear, defined roles as you would expect.

A DPO is responsible for all aspects of data protection, including but not limited to:

- Informing data controllers and data subjects about their rights, obligations and responsibilities where data protection is concerned, raising awareness of them where
required.

- Lead, advise and recommend on the application of data protection rules within a business to ensure the business remains compliant and accountable.

- Identify potential or actual data protection breaches, reporting those where a breach has occurred to the relevant bodies in a timely manner. This includes handling complaints relating to the company's data protection and ensuring full cooperation with inspections from relevant bodies.

DPO is a full-time job in itself, but with the penalty for a data breach being up to £17.5m or 4% of your annual worldwide turnover under the 2018 regulations, it is a vital one.

Why outsource your DPO
Non-compliance then is a costly mistake. Not just in terms of your company’s finances (British Airways were fined £20m for a lack of adequate security measures) but also for your reputation.

When a company’s reputation suffers in the eyes of the public, so too does its trust. In many ways, in the connected modern world in which we live, a loss of trust could be just as if not more disastrous than the financial implication of a GDPR breach. So important is trust that Deloitte reports that trusted companies outperform their peers by 400% with customers who trust a brand are 88% more likely to buy from them again. Clearly then, reputation matters.

At ADNS Group we know how time consuming this can be. It’s why our dedicated DPO service will undergo an initial audit on your system and policies to identify red flags immediately, acting proactively to protect your reputation and ensure full GDPR compliance going forward.

Ensure your business remains GDPR compliant. Contact ADNS Group today to discuss how we can act as your dedicated DPO, reducing your IT-related risk and improving your productivity.

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