Shajesh Menon is the Founder and CEO of Younion. With more than two decades of diverse experience in Marketing and Brand Management, he has closely worked with companies like Google, Microsoft, Philips, Salesforce, AWS, Dell, Vmware, HPE, AutoDesk, RedHat, Intel, etc. Before the establishment of Younion, Shajesh held different leadership roles. From working in general selling, to opting for media sales, marketing services, business administration and management, Shajesh has done it all. Under the sheer guidance and leadership of Shajesh, Younion has successfully served several brands for twelve years as a brand experiences partner. The company has had a long association with many respected global brands and is known for providing structured & effective delivery practices, value-centric and result-oriented systemic framework, to its clients. Shajesh strongly believes that inspiration can strike anywhere, anytime and that solutions are always rooted within problems. For Shajesh, food & travel go hand in hand, he lives for the drive, he travels for the food and is on a perpetual quest for stuff that’s authentic and local.
Data might be the new buzzword of the decade with everyone wanting to swipe right at it, but with great power comes great responsibility. It’s not just about dabbling with numbers, it’s about making sure things are done with intent, done well and done right. With the world soaked in technology, organizations and individuals are truly embracing the power and competitive edge that good data can unlock. The mined insights can be influential, and the impact can be revolutionizing. What we do with it, how we use it, whom we share it with, and handle all of this information is a responsibility that’s essentially in our hands.
To understand how to deal with data the right way, let’s take a step back and look at the journey of data.
From cradle to grave
It all starts with data creation, what’s collected is classified and validated, then stored – on-premises, in data centers, across devices, in the cloud. Next in the life cycle comes data sharing, be it with internal stakeholders or with partners/clients outside the organization. Data sharing safeguards involve access control, rights management to prevent data loss prevention and unauthorized access to sensitive information. When dealing with third-party vendors and their data, clear measures need to be set in place for verification, integration, dissemination, archiving, backup, and removal after services are delivered.
The pandora’s box
While the data lifecycle might sound straightforward on paper, every phase is ridden with challenges. Database security is arguably the most challenging of them all, because it is touched by all possible aspects of information security technologies and practices. It’s also naturally at odds with database usability. While on one hand, when databases are built to be more accessible and usable, they tend to be vulnerable to security threats. On the other hand, databases being invulnerable translates to them being more difficult to access and use. A paradox all parties dealing with data, at some level or the other, have to live with! Circling back to the topic of data responsibility, security controls, awareness training, penetration testing and vulnerability assessment should be part and parcel of formal data security policies.
The price of privacy
Today, companies face heightened scrutiny from regulators in the area of improving how they collect, use, store and delete personal information and manage privacy. With time, the pressure is only expected to grow with innovations such as the Internet of Things, big data, always-on virtual assistants, etc., generating more and more data and insights about everything people say and do.
Is more always better?
In a world where the value and volume of data are growing exponentially, data privacy is juxtaposed as both a potential issue as well as a source of competitive advantage. When it comes to data, the mindset of the-more-the-better is fast changing, both companies and regulators are slowly realizing that it’s possible to have too much of a good thing, as it makes way for a host of other problems – cost, security, and compliance, to name a few.
Devil is in the details
With increasing conversations and controversies surfacing, stringent laws and regulations are essential to make a paradigm shift in the minds of the general audience and its growing concerns about private data. The frequent headlines shining a spotlight on the potential misuse of consumer data, organizations dealing and sharing the data with third parties, etc., lead to significant reputation damage and data breaches that do a disservice to the ecosystem at large. There’s a lack of stringent personal data protection laws in India but aligning to GDPR policies is not something organizations can overlook.
Companies need to adopt a more proactive method while leveraging inventory of third-party relationships, including data collected, stored, or shared in order to address issues related to quality, use, privacy, and security. From using the right tools that handle requests in a timely manner, keeping authentication and permissions for affiliate marketing in mind, gearing up for reputational risks that extend beyond non-compliance. Having a GDPR-compliant privacy policy, seeking consent from data subjects, securing the processing of personal data, non-adherence can lead to big financial implications even for Indian businesses. Without a comprehensive approach to information governance, database management and data privacy remain a pressing compliance challenge and a potential ticking time bomb.