‘70% of leaders see investment in cyber security as an opportunity to find new revenue streams and innovate, rather than as an overhead cost.’ (Source KPMG 1017)

There’s no escaping it, complying with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) legislation is not only a regulatory exercise, but a potentially costly one too. However, it can be much more than that. GDPR is a real opportunity for businesses to innovate and gain a competitive advantage.

Trust is the pivot upon which this advantage can be won. Last year, the Information Commissioner’s Office found that just one in five UK citizens had ‘trust and confidence’ in how organisations store their private information. Get it right and the public’s trust and confidence in your business will pay dividends.

According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), data is the oil of the 21st Century. So much so that the WEF has stated that personal data should be considered an asset in its own right. So handling data accurately, transparently and confidentially (all explicit requirements within GDPR) is key.

The public want to be reassured that the collection and processing of their personal data has been done securely. Businesses that do this will gain trust. This can lead to better, richer and more meaningful relationships between a business and its customers, with deeper engagement levels.

Ludovic Lévy, Orange’s Vice President of Data Strategy, described this as the marketing of privacy at last year’s Data Marketing Conference in Paris. “The marketing of privacy is a new avenue of strong development for companies,” he said. It allows professionals to increase the trust of their users in the services they use. It's up to companies to reassure consumers by showing them that their data is protected and by telling them how they are being exploited. An inevitable task with the introduction of GDPR

This marketing of privacy is paramount when businesses look to ensure that their employees’ mobile phones are confidential and secure. Achieving this displays a serious commitment to the privacy of personal data.

That’s because in an age where our smartphones have become an extension of the office, it’s more likely that there will be sensitive personal information on that device. The importance of mobile security is something everyone can understand.

Making this protection of personal data and mobile security a point of difference with competitors will enhance brand reputation and, subsequently, trust. And when customers trust a business, great things can happen. Additionally, pioneering businesses that embrace this change will be best placed to benefit from increased customer and employee trust and loyalty. .

This is why businesses should recognise GDPR as an opportunity, and emphasise how secure their phones really are.

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