It’s been some time that we’ve been drying our eyes since Britain said goodbye and left the European Union. Brexit was a historic event, making it necessary to come up with new rules and regulations to avoid disrupting the cooperation between the UK, the EU, and the rest of the world. Data-related topics are no exception. Let’s see how data lineage can help organizations carry on with the post-Brexit show and be on the safe side when the transition period ends.
You surely remember May 2018, when all organizations that collect and process personal information from individuals living in the European Union had to adjust their terms to comply with a new regulation, GDPR. We are almost two years in, and still, there are companies struggling to prove that such data is being stored, protected, and processed in line with European Union requirements.
When GDPR came into effect, the decision that the UK would be leaving the EU was already made. Nevertheless, they had to implement GDPR and update their data privacy laws. In order to do so, the Data Protection Act (DPA), a UK-only regulation, was implemented. The act will be valid until the end of the transition period (December 31st, 2020). What will happen after that? As of today, the plan is to have UK-GDPR brought into UK law. The idea of the regulation is to adjust the GDPR to the UK’s requirements and needs.
More regulations mean more rules your organization has to adhere to and more auditors with all kinds of questions about how you store your data, what sources it comes from, who can access it, and so on. Will there be any new data privacy regulations introduced after the transition period? That’s something we cannot be sure of now. So what is the solution? Get ready in advance and use data lineage to make sure that the alphabet soup of compliance won’t spill. Read more on how to prevent it with lineage here.
Let’s say you are storing data both in the UK and in the EU. The transition period ends. Perhaps the UK has passed another data privacy regulation and compliance with the UK regulation is not enough for GDPR compliance. Maybe it would make more sense to move some of your data to another center then? If the very thought of it gives you a headache, I can’t blame you. You are most likely dealing with a huge database, loaded with sensitive information, developed over years. The manual approach is extremely time consuming and error-prone. Luckily, MANTA turns even complicated systems into a map of dependencies, showing you what should be migrated and making the whole process smooth and reliable.
Being fully compliant with both the European and UK data-regulations and making sure that your data has found a safe home, either on British servers or under twelve stars, is a starting point. Having a clear overview of all your data flows lays the foundation for enhanced data privacy and security, data sharing, and making better use of your organization’s data in general.
Brexit left many European hearts broken. It also left us with many uncertainties in terms of data-related topics, and it won’t get much clearer before the transition period ends. Brexit taught us one thing—you should expect the unexpected and make sure that in case of any dynamic changes the stage is all set to meet compliance demands and identify, secure, and migrate your data in no time.
Are you wondering how else MANTA can help your organization overcome data-related obstacles? Hit us up at manta@gemanta.com or schedule a demo.