Privacy and Data Security

Who uses privacy and data security software, and why?

Businesses of all sizes and types use privacy and data security software to help them comply with data privacy and protection laws. Most companies collect, store, and disseminate data on customers and leads. In doing so, they must protect individual privacy preferences and personally identifiable information (PII) according to data privacy laws and regulations and abide by the company's privacy policy.

Why should my organization use privacy and data security software?

Customers trust companies that collect and use their data transparently and responsibly. Using software that helps companies track customers' consent to store and use their data and protect individual privacy preferences and PII lends trust in customer relationships and makes for continuing and recurring business opportunities.

What features do privacy and data security software include?

Many data and information security providers make software that helps companies address privacy and data security issues in handling personal privacy preferences and PII. Features can include search engine technologies that discover, classify, and map sensitive data and data security controls to encrypt and monitor it. The software may track user consent forms, provide customer access to privacy preferences, and limit and log authorized access to sensitive data. The software may also automate compliance reporting and auditing, protect data from loss and ransomware attacks, and respond to security incidents and data breaches to comply with laws and regulations.

LawNext Directory features for privacy and data security software include CCPA Compliance, Data Loss Prevention, Data Sovereignty, Ethical Walls, GDPR compliance, and PIPL Compliance.

Should I choose cloud-based privacy and data security software on-premises?

You should deploy privacy and data security software closest to the data. If you collect and store privacy-related data in the cloud, then choosing cloud-based privacy and data security software will put the application close to the data. But if the data is collected and stored on-premises, then it is best to choose on-premises software. If the information is in the cloud and on-premises (hybrid), ensure the software can work wherever the data resides. Keep your eye on the cloud, where you get immediate software and security updates.

Organizations have been slowly migrating to cloud-based SaaS, where reliability, performance, and security requirements can meet or exceed on-premises resources. Small and midsized companies embrace SaaS to compete with the resources of large corporations. Organizations of all sizes can reduce their total cost of ownership in privacy and data security software by using SaaS.

Consider on-premises privacy and data security software if the company needs to meet stringent client requirements or integrate with legacy systems that SaaS cannot access.

Should I select an all-in-one privacy and data security solution or discrete software addressing various privacy and data security issues?

All-in-one privacy and data security software is feature-rich and designed for large enterprises with global data privacy requirements. But you may not need all-in-one software if you market your product to customers in more limited geographies. You also may not collect the amount of private information from customers that warrant an enterprise-grade solution. In that case, choose discrete software that addresses your industry vertical and geographic markets and a point solution for data breach and incident response software.

What should I expect to pay for privacy and data security software?

All-in-one privacy and data security is enterprise software, and pricing models generally calculate the number of employees and the amount of data processed, stored, monitored, and analyzed. Using cloud-based applications, you may avoid up-front privacy and data security expense with monthly, pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) billing for data processing, storage, and analysis. For PAYGO pricing, ensure you can transparently monitor your data usage.

Cloud-based applications require no capital expenditures (CAPEX) and maintenance on local computers to run the software. It relieves organizations of the administrative burden of supporting, upgrading, and patching on-premises servers and privacy and data security software. The organization must have sufficient IT budget and resources for on-premises software deployment.