Data Cleansing and the march of the GDPR
Data and Data Cleansing | August 01, 2017
The GDPR?
There have been a myriad of stories and articles regarding the oncoming ‘storm’ of the new EU conceived directive, the GDPR. For those unfamiliar with the terminology, the GDPR refers to the General Data Protection Regulation, designed to supersede the ‘out-of-date’ Data Protection Act of 1998. After years of heated discussions regarding the state of data security, the impending adoption of the GDPR framework will undoubtedly affect businesses of all types.
Who does it affect?
Organisations that have access to, and handle privately held data within the EU are required to comply with the GDPR after it takes effect on 25 May 2018. For businesses within the UK, Brexit will not affect the GDPR becoming domestic law due to the nation still retaining its EU membership status at the time of the GDPR taking effect.
Whilst May 2018 might seem like the distant future, this is not an issue to procrastinate on. There are several moving parts that businesses are required to implement before the May deadline. The biggest change to take note of is that any business that fails to comply with the regulation will incur heavy penalties of either 4% of annual turnover or €20 million, whichever is greater.
Now, that may seem a somewhat alarming prospect, but in reality, there’s no need to panic. All it takes is preparation and data cleansing is a logical step, wherever you are in the process.
How we help
Mail and Print provide a Data Cleansing service that validates your data against both the MPS (Mailing Preference Service) file and the PAF (Postcode Address File).
These validation techniques are used to screen your data against mailing preferences, to prevent mailing those addresses that have opted out, and against the most accurate postcode file in the UK. While there are many other intricate requirements imposed by the GDPR, these two services provide the foundations upon which you can build your compliant and clean databases.
Mail and Print are constantly reviewing the information available about the GDPR and can provide you with advice on the framework as a whole or which particular section affects you directly so that you can prepare accordingly.
Using the Mail and Print Data Cleansing service ensures you are in a stronger position when the GDPR takes effect as well as reducing mailing costs, increasing response rates and subsequently improving ROI.
If you would like to take advantage of our Data Cleansing Service or simply need more information, give us a call on 01747 820960 and we’ll be happy to help.
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