In a recent survey of 900 senior business decision makers, Veritas found that 86% of organizations worldwide are concerned that a failure to adhere to the upcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) could have a major negative impact on their business. Specifically, nearly 20% of respondents say they fear that non-compliance could put them out of business.
These are powerful results, but not totally unpredictable. The stiff fines associated with GPDR non-compliance, up to €20million or 4% of annual worldwide turnover—whichever is greater, are obviously so significant that organizations may be forced to shutter if they are stung by the maximum fine the regulators are able to dispense. This is what differentiates the GDPR from previous attempts at data privacy regulation—the teeth are sharp and the bite is vicious.
If business failure isn’t the end result that stokes fear, there are plenty of other concerns survey participants recognized. 21% of respondents felt compliance failure would undoubtedly lead to workforce reduction and layoffs as a means to free up the money required to pay down fines. Obviously, with fewer workers on hand, organizations could suffer productivity hits that impact their ability to generate future revenue, thereby creating a negative long tail stemming from GDPR non-compliance.
Survey participants were also very concerned with their organization’s reputation and perception vis-à-vis GDPR compliance. 19% of those surveyed fear that the negative media or social coverage stemming from a compliance failure could cause their organization to lose customers. 12% are very concerned that their organization’s brand would be devalued as a result of the negative coverage. These are potentially damning implications for organizations that fail to begin their compliance journey in earnest and improve their data management practices.
In March 2017, Veritas introduced 360 Data 
For more details and insights from the 2017 Veritas GDPR Report, please click here. Additionally, please join us for a live broadcast event on May 25, 2017 entitled, 365 Days and Counting…Your Playbook for Accelerating GDPR Readiness, to learn GDPR best-practices from experts at William Fry and IDC.
