BECOME AND STAY EU GDPR COMPLIANT

Violations entail fines of up to 20 million euros or up to 4 percent of the total worldwide annual turnover achieved in the previous financial year, whichever is higher. Many infringements, for example the failure to appoint a data protection officer, are considered grossly negligent conduct. The supervisory authorities consistently investigate violations.

An external data protection officer (DPO) has cross-sectoral industry knowledge and relevant expertise. Therefore, our experts will always keep you informed about relevant changes and jurisdictions. Thanks to professional and efficient workflows, documents are routinely created and necessary processes are easily established. Our specialists are comprehensively trained. In case of illness or vacation, substitution is regulated. Fixed packages enable a transparent overview of costs.

An internal DPO, on the other hand, must undergo continuous training, which requires a considerable amount of time. It is often not easy to ensure that substitution is guaranteed. Furthermore, not everyone may be appointed as a DPO: among other things, the managing director may not assume this task. The internal DPO is also subject to special protection against dismissal. The liability remains with the company. External advice is often still required, which results in additional costs.
An internal DPO, on the other hand, must undergo continuous training, which requires a considerable amount of time. It is often not easy to ensure that substitution is guaranteed. Furthermore, not everyone may be appointed as a DPO: among other things, the managing director may not assume this task. The internal DPO is also subject to special protection against dismissal. The liability remains with the company. External advice is often still required, which results in additional costs.

The appointment of a data protection officer (DPO) is mandatory in Germany if at least 20 persons are involved in the processing of personal data in a company. The number of employees also includes external service providers (e.g. if you commission an external accountant). However, apart from the number of employees, there are other factors involved in the appointment of a DPO. Companies that work with particularly sensitive data, as is often the case with companies in the medical sector, must also appoint a DPO. However, all requirements of the GDPR must be implemented even if you don’t have a DPO.

Many companies decide to appoint a data protection officer (DPO) from their own staff. This means that a person must have a very deep understanding of the legal situation and the technology behind the individual company processes. It is very difficult for one person to take on these two roles alone. That is why we offer you a complete team of lawyers and IT experts who are ready to help you with advice and support. Furthermore, within the company, neither the management nor the IT department may be appointed as DPO. An internal DPO often lacks the expertise to find resource-saving ways to make processes GDPR-compliant. Our specialists, on the other hand, are trained to make recommendations that have as little impact on your structures as possible.

First, we get to know you during an initial call to determine your needs, so that we can support you as best as possible. After the commissioning of services, the audit process starts. Our intuitive platform asks you individually-tailored questions about the data processing processes in your company. A specialist will then walk through the answers with you. Even after the audit process is completed, we are there for you to answer questions, solve problems and keep you informed about relevant news and changes in the law.

After an initial meeting with one of our experts, you will be classified into the appropriate service package (Basic, Medium, Medium+, Premium, Corporate) that suits your company and sign the contract sent to you by e-mail, which you are welcome to return to us scanned and signed. We can then be appointed as your external data protection officer within 24 hours.

As a data protection officer (DPO), we are your first point of contact for all data protection issues. We determine your needs and support you in implementing the GDPR in your company. After we have determined your needs in an introductory meeting and we have been appointed as your DPO, the audit process starts. Prior to this, you will be assigned an interdisciplinary data protection team tailored to your company. First, the processes in the respective departments are documented. For this purpose, you will answer the catalogue of questions tailored to you and your industry in our intuitive data protection management software.

Our specialists then discuss the answers and any ambiguities with you. Afterwards, the implementation of the GDPR will begin. We will provide you with recommendations for action with which you can design your processes in compliance with the GDPR. In doing so, we ensure that the recommendations interfere as little as possible with your existing structures.

After the audit process, we continue to be your first point of contact in matters of data protection. You can reach us by telephone and via the platform. If there is any news as well as any changes in the law, you will be informed by us very promptly. We are also happy to advise you during project planning or during the introduction of new tools in your company. The actual implementation, however, is up to you. We only support you during the planning phase.

Our combination of personal advice and intuitive data protection management software allows us to provide you with optimal support for the GDPR.
- An interdisciplinary team of lawyers and IT experts provides individual advice. Depending on the package, a certain number of consulting hours is already included.
- We offer you transparency during the entire process. Our platform enables you to keep a constant eye on everything – and all this even without previous knowledge of data protection.
- Our online employee training courses on data protection are particularly effective and save resources.
- With us you stay up to date: we inform you about relevant news and changes in the law

The data protection officer (DPO) does not have to be on site to perform his or her tasks. Our online data protection platform supports us in implementing your data protection requirements. It is important that the DPO has all the information he or she needs to fulfil his or her tasks.

In addition, he or she should be directly accessible to company management as well as employees, customers and authorities. We can offer you support on all these points, as we are personally available for you conveniently by telephone or email from Monday to Friday during office hours from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Your advantages:
- Your employees can concentrate on their daily business and are therefore more productive
- You save on travel costs for our consultants

As your external data protection officer, we minimise your liability risk: on the one hand, our competent advice reduces the probability of receiving high fines, and on the other hand, we are liable for up to 20 million euros should we advise you incorrectly. However, you are responsible for the correct implementation of our recommendations for action. Nevertheless, we are of course available to provide you with advice and practical support, and to offer you concrete recommendations for action.

The initial call with one of our experts is completely free of charge for you.

In order to be able to support you as best as possible, we need to know a little bit more about your company to determine your needs. In a call lasting about 30 minutes, a member of our staff will cover the most important questions with you.