Data Privacy Programs Improve Operational Efficiency

Operational efficiency is critical to maintaining a competitive edge. But that efficiency is elusive in many businesses. 

Data silos are killing productivity:

In a report from Cornell University’s Ellis Idea Lab1, 58% of employees stated that different departments often use separate applications, which creates barriers to finding and sharing information. Employees wasted an average of 59 minutes per day searching for information across multiple systems. And respondents estimated that 21% of the mistakes they made resulted from difficulties in accessing information on their company’s online tools and communication platforms.

Shadow IT further aggravates fragmentation and increases risk:

One report found that 56%2 of applications used within companies are not owned or sanctioned by IT. While these tools might solve short-term issues, they create long-term inefficiencies and complicate data governance.

And manual work is costly in more ways than one:

  • Wastes time
  • Introduces error
  • Costs money out of pocket
  • Puts organizations at risk for noncompliance and breach

The High Cost of Manual Subject Rights Management

Handling subject rights requests (SRRs) can be a painfully resource-intensive project. The financial burden of processing these requests averages $1,5243 per manually handled SRR (often involving HR, legal, IT, and compliance teams), leading to inefficiencies and higher costs.

60%

of businesses reported an increase in SRRs (DSARs) over the past year.

$1,524

is the average cost of manually processing an SRR (DSAR).

And the bad news? It gets worse as SRR volumes increase. In fact, 60%4 of businesses report an increase in SRRs over the past year, with some handling over 5005 requests weekly. It adds up, as does the time spent on this manual work. Many organizations find they can’t process the requests fast enough to be in line with regulations, raising their risk of non-compliance.

Subject Rights Management Without Tears

During the first year of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), organizations in the IT sector had to process nearly 900,000 SRRs. Given that the average cost of manually processing an SRR is $1,524, that works out to a total cost of nearly $1.3 billion. A 10% reduction in cost from process efficiency could have saved $130 million; a 30% improvement could have saved approximately $390 million.

McKinsey6 estimated that automation could raise global productivity growth by 0.8% to 1.4% annually. A privacy program that automates SRR processes and workflows to help teams to handle more requests, faster, is a solid investment that delivers both compliance and cost savings. 

Integrate, Deduplicate, and Automate Your Way to Operational Excellence

A robust data privacy program can automate processes, map data, and assess systems, information, and processes in departments across the business to not only support compliance but also directly enhance a company’s operational capabilities across non-privacy functions.

Data privacy programs streamline processes across departments, reducing friction and improving workflows.

Increased Efficiency

In a Cisco study, 78%7 of organizations report that their data privacy initiatives drive operational efficiency. By properly managing and securing personal and sensitive data, businesses avoid costly errors, redundancies, and inefficiencies, ultimately boosting productivity and allowing organizations to reallocate resources toward innovation and growth.

Faster Sales Cycles

Privacy programs also optimize the sales cycle; 73%8 of companies found that investing in privacy reduced delays. With clear policies, well-documented privacy compliance practices, and a well-organized data infrastructure, sales teams can access vital information without bottlenecks, accelerating deal closures and improving customer satisfaction.

How to Drive Operational Efficiency with Osano

By automating key workflows, enhancing data visibility, and fostering collaboration between departments, Osano helps organizations optimize operations while staying compliant with privacy regulations.

  • Osano Subject Rights Management streamlines SRR processing by automating key tasks (including identity verification and assigning work), detecting duplicates, and using geofencing and localization to serve up the correct forms by jurisdiction. 
  • Use Osano’s Data Mapping and Subject Rights Management tools together to automatically delete and summarize data from designated systems. This reduces manual coordination, speeds up response times, and lowers the cost of responding to requests.
  • Easily communicate your data privacy practices to sales prospects using Osano’s Trust Center. A transparent approach to privacy reduces delays caused by compliance concerns, speeding up the sales cycle.
  • Osano Data Mapping identifies how data is processed and stored across applications, allowing privacy teams to easily spot duplicate systems, data, and processes. This transparency enables better communication around the organization’s tech stack, reduces data silos and shadow IT, helps optimize data processes, and promotes good compliance practices like data minimization.
  • Use Osano Data Mapping and Assessments together to foster a better understanding of each department’s processes and technology.
  • Conduct assessments directly with individual departments to gain insight into specific tools and how they are used; workflows and preferences; and risks that can impact efficiency and compliance, like duplicate work, fragmentation, and sensitive data in shadow IT.
  • Drive better engagement and more accurate answers on repeat assessments by pre-populating repeat assessments with previously discovered system information, enabling the team to focus on updates rather than rework. 

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