GDPR Good News

An EfficientIP X-Day study says average global spend on GDPR compliance tops £1 million, with less than 100 days to go before the deadline for EU GDPR compliance on 25th May this year.

EfficientIP, through independent market research firm Coleman Parkes, asked over 1,000 companies worldwide about their preparation plans for GDPR. Among the key findings were:

• Over two-thirds of global businesses at 72% are confident they will have all required GDPR compliance processes in place by 25th May 2018.
• North America is the most confident region in world, with American and Canadian organisations saying they will be prepared at 84% and 75% respectively.
• Despite the on-going Brexit negotiations and uncertainty looming over the enforcement and effectiveness of the EU GDPR regulation on local businesses, the UK is the most confident nation in Europe, with 74% saying they will be ready by deadline day.
• In comparison, Spanish businesses are a close second to the UK at 73%, dropping to 66% of French respondents. German organisations are the least confident in Europe at 61%.

Businesses worldwide believe there will be a variety of benefits they will gain from being GDPR compliant. Nearly half of all organisations surveyed, at 46%, say the most important benefit from being compliant is gaining customer trust to handle sensitive data.

31% of businesses believe the most important value from compliance is enhanced brand awareness. 18% of respondents felt GDPR compliance will increase customer loyalty is the most important benefit.

European organisations lead the study in saying increased customer loyalty is the biggest impact at 22%.