Are you looking to appoint a data protection officer (DPO)? For some organisations, it is a legal requirement to have a DPO to advise and ensure compliance with GDPR. Many companies outsource their DPOs to oversee their data protection over in-house recruiting.
In this blog, we’ll discover why outsourced DPO services can help drive compliance and positive change in your organisation.
What Are the Benefits of Outsourcing DPOs?
Eliminates Conflict of Interest:
Under the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018, the data controller must ensure the DPO only performs allocated tasks in Part 3, Chapter 4, to avoid conflict of interest. In many organisations, internal DPOs may have duties with business needs in mind.
An outsourced data protection officer remains impartial and independent from business politics and goals. This independence safeguards DPOs from the impact on their day-to-day role.
Controllers can’t penalise DPOs for tasks, even if they are against commercial objectives. Outsourced DPOs act on behalf of the law, providing essential input. This ensures adherence to data protection obligations and maintains a necessary level of independence for effective oversight.
Access Industry Experts:
When designating an outsourced DPO, you’ll access an officer with expert knowledge of data protection law and practice. They are backed with industry-specific expertise and are competent at choosing relevant technical and organisational measures to protect your data.
The DPA and GDPR are complex laws, meaning it’s difficult for one DPO to know all national (and international) regulations in place. By outsourcing a data protection officer provider, you’ll have a team to answer questions and update you on ongoing industry changes.
Saves Costs:
Recruiting internally costs a lot of time and money. From hiring to training and benefits packages to salaries, costs easily add up. An outsourced DPO, instead, is a cost-effective way of fulfilling your DPO obligations without having them on full-time.
You only pay for the time you need. For smaller organisations, choosing services such as our DPO Lite option enables you to manage more straightforward processing activities for cheaper.
Maximises Productivity:
An independent DPO’s sole focus is data protection, meaning they won’t get distracted by other tasks or projects. Their approach is more thorough, beyond ticking boxes and future proofs your organisation’s responsibility as a compliant data controller.
Minimises Data Breaches:
In 2023, 74% of data breaches involved human error. It’s really this easy to make a mistake that could cost you millions. An internal DPO often wears many hats and can go absent due to sickness or annual leave. This could potentially risk data breaches falling through the cracks. Hiring an external DPO provider means you’ll be covered all year round.
At Data Protection People, our DPOs will provide training, undertake DPIAs and GDPR audits and advise on security incidents as needed.
Outsource Your DPO with Data Protection People
Our data protection officers provide hands-on results backed by best practices, industry knowledge and expertise. We’ve worked across sectors, allowing us to help hundreds of organisations achieve GDPR compliance. Contact the team to learn about our DPO services today.