Introduction
Data is the lifeblood of your business. It informs every decision you make and guides the actions of your team. It helps you to predict trends in the market, adjust your services, and informs your leadership strategies. Data has never been more important, because it means the difference between success and failure for a business. You need to keep it safe as it can only benefit your company.
You can't underestimate the value of a company's data. This is a critical resource for your business, and understanding how to manage it is important if you want to succeed in today's competitive market.
1 ) What is POPIA In South Africa?
The South African privacy law is known as the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), and it serves as an effective regulator for how companies handle personal information.
This law requires companies and organizations to live up to minimum conditions for lawful processing, and sets standards and procedures for how personal information is collected, used, and stored by businesses.
POPIA gives users an enforceable right to access, rectify, correct, or delete any data held about them.
2 ) Who does POPI affect?
The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) affects and applies to websites, companies, organizations and other legal entities that are based in South Africa and process personal information of South Africans.
It also applies to responsible parties that are based outside South Africa who process South African data within the country. This law applies to all personal information that is processed outside of the country and then brought back in.
3 Why its important for your business to comply with POPI?
While many in the tech industry would say that companies should be more transparent about what information they store and collect on us, there are valid reasons to keep that data private.
Personal data stored on a company's servers can be used for corporate espionage, sensitive intellectual property rights, and even fraud prevention.
There are also the privacy implications of sharing your personal data with third parties.
It is in the best interests of any company to maintain their data as secure as possible.
This extends beyond the original purpose of the Personal Privacy Protection Act — the protection of personal data.
It is also vital for companies to protect their intellectual property and maintain a secure network. But, it goes deeper than that: companies want to keep their customers' personal data secure for a multitude of reasons that extend beyond just the POPI Act.
These include corporate espionage and protecting intellectual property.
4 When does POPI apply to me?
On 1 July 2020, the one-year grace period in respect of POPIA came to an end.
The commencement date of the various sections was 1 July 2020 (with the exception of section 110 and 114(4).
5 What should you do to prepare for POPI?
You've now learned that the right choice for you and your business is to comply with the Privacy of Personal Information Act.
You can protect your business and its customers by taking the right steps to protect your data so it can't be stolen, lost, breached or abused.
Knowing the reasons why you should follow the POPI Compliance Act and the services available for those who want to follow the law will help your organization or business to properly protect your sensitive data that is highly confidential.
Store your documents and data in the cloud
Cloud storage provides a secure, reliable environment to store and access your documents while protecting them from unauthorized access by third parties.
Backup Everything
Keeping multiple copies of your data on the cloud is a way to help ensure that your information can never be compromised. Microsoft Backup and Microsoft 365 Backup can help you keep copies of your files on your PC and on the cloud, which will provide a backup solution for you.
Have a Disaster Recovery Plan
Even the smallest of company disasters can have a major impact on your business. It is essential to have a Disaster Response plan in place to protect your company and its customers from the financial, physical, and reputational damage that can result from a data breach.
Manage Identity and Access
It's important to keep personal information safe and secure. If you lose control of your data, it can get into the hands of the wrong people. You can work with a third party to set up Identity and Access Management (IAM) to monitor access to your accounts and data. With this technology in place, you can quickly detect any suspicious activity or alert authorities if theft, loss, or compromise occurs to keep personal information safe.
Provide Continuous Compliance monitoring
Cloud storage provides a secure, reliable environment to store and access your documents while protecting them from unauthorized access by third parties.
Outsource IT services to a Trusted Microsoft Cloud Service Provider like TSP Digital.
One of your biggest assets for complying with the POPI Act is having a trusted service provider.
A trusted Managed IT Services company can advise on the best technologies for your company and the best practices for keeping your information secure. Only a trustworthy IT company can help your business keep compliance data safe.