The cost of living crisis has made businesses more prudent with their money. But is this the right move? Continuous investment in technology is vital. Additionally, businesses have to protect more data every day. As a result, privacy tech investment is now critical for businesses.
Thankfully, businesses can invest in privacy tech and save money. There are several hidden returns on investment (ROI) from investing in privacy tech. This article is the 1st in the privacy tech content series. It will explain why privacy tech investments are high-value investments for businesses.
What Is Privacy Technology (PT)?
Privacy Technology (PT) refers to products and services that enhance privacy protection. PT can also reduce data breaches and give individuals control over personal information. The best privacy technology for a company balances privacy with usability.
As data grows, privacy technology will become more critical in controlling big data. The White House is already aware of the importance of privacy tech. It is currently driving a national strategy to promote privacy technology.
There Is A Growing Need For Privacy Tech Investment
Every company has different objectives, depending on its short and long-term goals. For example, your company might want to increase its profit margin. Or you might want to increase your revenue while reducing reliance on cookies and trackers. Investing in privacy technology can help you save money and meet your company goals.
Companies must also keep regulators happy by staying compliant with regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Automating compliance can make things easier for businesses to match their compliance needs.
Understanding The ROI Of Privacy Tech Investment
Now you understand the importance of privacy technology for your business. You can see why privacy tech investment should be high on your business agenda. While we know that we have to “speculate to accumulate.” Quantifying the savings of any privacy tech investment can help you appreciate the ROI.
Indeed, according to research by Gartner, 93% of B2B buyers require a business case before purchasing any tech solution. Organizations must have the peace of mind that the investment will improve their business metrics. The correct privacy tech investment needs to tick the following boxes:
- The tool or platform will have the capabilities that you need
- You can receive a positive ROI on your investment
- You can review and monitor the time and cost savings
- You can achieve key metrics and KPIs to reach your goals successfully
- It has to fit your budget for what you need it to do
- It can help you gain executive buy-in
Unlocking Savings Through Value Engineering
Specialist consultants are available to advise about privacy technology investment. Most specialist privacy tech consultants have extensive backgrounds in the privacy industry. Businesses can use this expert analysis to unlock savings and higher ROI.
FLLR Consulting uses value engineering to show the benefits of a PT implementation. The privacy tech consultancy uses a value engineering system. It helps companies to understand the value of an investment in privacy technology.
Nik Fuller, from FLLR Consulting, explains value engineering as follows, “Unlocking the value of privacy technology goes beyond numbers in a spreadsheet. It’s about aligning with company goals and values which ultimately unlocks the budget most compliance professionals are seeking to invest into their programs.”
The Nine Key Components Of Value Engineering
Before you commit, you must know what your business can achieve from the investment. Applying a value engineering principle can provide insight into adopting privacy automation technology.
Here are the nine different pillars that you need to consider:
Determine the Pain Points for Your Business
You need to have a clear understanding of the pain points in your business. You can determine this by answering the following questions:
- What is the current level of effort for the company to complete privacy tasks?
- How many users are involved in privacy tasks?
- How long does it take to complete privacy tasks?
- What are the current user experience and satisfaction levels?
- What is the complexity of the organizational structure?
Map Out Workflows
Once you have answered these questions, you can map out your privacy programs. The mapping process can help you understand your current situation. You can see how long it takes to complete different steps and how much time you give to these tasks.
Value Drivers
After the mapping process, your privacy team can review the essential metrics for the team. It could cover DSAR fulfillment time, service level agreements, or the implementation time of a new privacy tool.
Company Goals
Once you have reached this stage, you must re-evaluate your company goals. You can do this by looking through the lens of your value drivers.
Alignment of Value Drivers and Goals
Next, you need to align your company goals with your value drivers. You can establish a need for privacy updates by aligning these areas. It also creates credibility for the key stakeholders.
Detail the Required Capabilities
You can then look at the capabilities you require to do this. You can determine these requirements by looking at the needs in the workflow mapping and the company pain points. These capabilities can be qualifiable or quantifiable.
Map Out The Key Stakeholders
It’s crucial at this stage to map out all the key stakeholders that you need a sign-off. Also, don’t forget to detail at what stage of the process they need to do this.
Build vs. Buy
Make a list of all the potential privacy solutions and analyze each one. Decide if you want to invest in a privacy platform solution or if you can build an in-house tool. Start leaning toward creating an in-house tool. You must check the following:
- Your resource allocation for building and designing it
- The cost of building it internally
- The cost of providing ongoing maintenance and support
ROI From Using Privacy Tech
The above system can help you assess if the investment suits your company. It’s also worth noting some key areas where your business can gain a healthy ROI when using privacy technology.
- Privacy Team Velocity
Privacy tech can take your privacy team to the next level. Automation can speed up processes and help the team make more effective decisions.
- Support/Maintenance Elimination
Companies can eliminate the support and maintenance side of privacy commitments in nearly all cases.
- Enable Customer Trust
Privacy tech is an ideal way for businesses to improve their company reputation. It is also a magnet to attract potential customers.
- Reduce Regulation Risk
Privacy tech investment ensures you are on the right side of the law and boosts your compliance efforts. It can also help to reduce fines and penalties.
Take The Next Step Towards Investing In Privacy Tech
It’s all about having a growth mindset. Instead of wondering about a privacy technology investment, it’s time to reap the benefits. Investing in privacy tech is value engineering at its finest. Organizations can enjoy a clear ROI by reducing regulation risks, boosting customer trust, and lowering maintenance costs.
It’s easier to get the board on the side when there are opportunities to save money. Plus, you can stay compliant and gain respect in your industry for your privacy commitments. It can also support customer retention efforts and help attract new customers. Add privacy tech investment to your agenda and get the ball rolling.
The 2nd article in this privacy technology series will be: The Future of Privacy: Investing in Tech to Protect Data.