It’s no secret that there’s a lot of waste in the privacy technology space. Many companies will purchase a tool and go through a lengthy implementation process, only to swap to a new tool when they need a change.

Treating privacy technology as disposable is a major source of waste: wasted effort, wasted time, and wasted money. But, there’s more to the story. Here’s what contributes to waste in privacy tech, and what your business can do to reduce waste.

What drives waste in privacy tech?

#1 - Privacy platforms are siloed.

Privacy tech doesn’t always integrate seamlessly into a tech stack, nor do different platforms transfer easily. Many vendors have quarantined their markets, forcing companies to do a complete overhaul of their privacy system if they want to switch platforms. 

Transferable practices and data categorizations exist between platforms, but each vendor has different structures for handling data subject requests and consent management. 

The lack of integrations between privacy platforms raises the barrier to entry for using their tech, leading to burdensome, costly migrations.

#2 - Companies outgrow their privacy tech.

Privacy technology works alongside a company’s internal technology, but each tech stack runs on its own path. Ideally, these trajectories should stay as parallel to one another as possible. 

But, when business needs change, the privacy tech doesn’t change automatically. It takes technical expertise and consistent monitoring to bring your tech and their tech into alignment – something that most internal teams lack the capacity to achieve.

The first solution may be to switch vendors. Still, this shift can create a lot more work for privacy teams as opposed to a smaller-scale rebuild to keep your privacy tech in alignment with how your systems are growing.

#3 - Migrations are resource-intensive, and sometimes unnecessary.

Migrations are a major undertaking, and many companies will face a learning curve during implementation. Businesses run the risk of repeating mistakes and failing to maximize the value of the new tool, especially if they lack technical support and specific knowledge of best practices. 

The cost to move technologies is not just with the tool itself. It takes time to rebuild your systems and reconsider your standards. Few companies put in front-end effort to assess their systems against their current privacy tool’s capabilities. This oversight can lead to costly, wasteful, and unnecessary migrations.

What does tech waste cost your organization?

As it stands, data privacy is not necessarily a revenue-generating field. Most businesses need to think of their privacy program in terms of cost-savings rather than earnings.

This is the key issue with privacy tech waste. Wasted effort and wasted tech means wasted money. For businesses, that looks like:

• Costly migrations: Rebuilding a privacy system from the ground up can be exponentially more expensive than working within a current system to meet your needs.
• Wasted work: Growing pains are inevitable in new systems, which can lead to mistakes and rework.
• Heightened risk of non-compliance: With a new platform comes new challenges; misconfigurations and changes in the interim can expose businesses to legal risk.

How can we reduce waste?

Adopting a conservationist mindset towards privacy tooling can reduce waste. Here’s what we recommend:

#1 - Adapt your tech to your objectives.

Before choosing to migrate privacy tools, take inventory of your current system’s potential and measure it against your business objectives. Sometimes, small changes can put your privacy tool in alignment with your internal trajectory. Not only that, clearly establishing your needs can help you choose the right platform for your business needs.

#2 - Learn from your successes and your missteps.

It’s crucial to document and discuss all the work you’ve done in the past to understand how it can be reused in your next privacy platform. Taking a proactive approach with proper technical support and documentation can prevent your team from repeating past missteps or rebuilding the functional components of your privacy system completely from scratch.

#3 - Build platforms for change.

Shift your mindset towards developing systems and privacy programs that can recycle from one technology to another. Dynamic, modular systems that grow with your business will reduce the effort for migration or adaptation in the future.

#4 - Get support from the experts.

Having the right technical resources can help you fill the gaps in your technology even while your technology stack shifts.

We're here to help.

Integrative Privacy is an engineer-first privacy consulting group. With implementation expertise across leading privacy platforms, we can help your team: 

• Reduce your tech waste.
• Reuse existingmethodologies.
• Recycle the part of your program that work.

See what privacy choices are costing your business.