The idea that organizations should be doing more to protect the personal data they hold about individuals has been gaining ground in recent years. The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) sparked a scramble to operationalize data management and security. If you thought that it was a one-off, then the incoming California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) may have been a nasty surprise, but it really shouldn’t have been.

A sea-change in attitudes and government willingness to legislate to protect individual privacy is sending a clear message that organizations need to get their data handling in order. High profile data breaches are expensive and worryingly commonplace. When they do occur, they’re often woefully mishandled, but an increase in punitive fines and public frustration strongly suggests that the smart move is to get your data management strategy in place today.