Data Privacy as a Competitive Differentiator
- by 7wData
- February 1, 2020

In today’s age of constant data breaches and Privacy ethics violations, companies are rethinking how they approach Privacy. What if privacy was used as a way to differentiate from competitors and create a business advantage? What if privacy-focused marketing and business practices were the next big disrupter? Historically, businesses have gained competitive advantage by understanding market dynamics and targeting the right customer segments with the right offerings. This is now tablestakes.
In the future, competitive advantage will be achieved by having a clear understanding of what data a company is actually going to need. Not having access to the right data on customers and citizens will put businesses at a critical disadvantage in an ever-competing market, and ultimately erode customer trust.
Companies need a full and working overview of the flow of their personal data, end-to-end. Understanding and being compliant with privacy regulations relies on knowledge of where private data is held, how it is secured, who has access to it, when and where it moves and who is using it for what. For any business that wants to hold or process privileged information, proving that they aren’t vulnerable to potential privacy breaches is essential.
Now more than ever a new deal for the ethical management of data is needed, creating a new balance and social contract between organizations and individuals. Personal information should be for personal use, while public data, sensor data and/or aggregated and encrypted data can be leveraged for other, important purposes.


