Independent Study Commissioned by Evidon Reveals that GDPR Budgets Will Increase in 2018 As Organizations Look to Balance Compliance and Customer Experience

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Dec 11, 2017) - Millions will be spent by companies to deal with the incoming GDPR and ePrivacy directives that come into force in May 2018. That's according to a new commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Evidon, the leading provider of simple technical solutions to complex digital Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) problems.

Nearly half (48%) of firms reported an initial establishing budget in excess of $1 million for GDPR and ePrivacy compliance, and 58% reported an annual maintenance budget of the same amount. Furthermore, 67% believe these budgets will increase after May 2018.

According to the study, GDPR, "along with the institution of changes to the ePrivacy directive, will fundamentally change the way organizations must think about privacy going forward. But simple compliance with these new and revised regulations should not be the ultimate goal for firms. Rather, firms need to embrace these changes as a way to improve customer experiences and gain a competitive advantage for themselves."

Forrester surveyed 263 data and compliance decision makers at organizations that either operate or do business in Europe. Overall, the study found that firms are taking GDPR seriously, and that many anticipate GDPR compliance will transform their organizations through "increased loyalty, satisfaction, and engagement from customers, as well as brand differentiation and uplift for themselves."

"The GDPR is a make-or-break event for publishers, brands, technology companies and app-makers that do business online in Europe," said Adrian Newby, CTO of Crownpeak, Evidon's parent company. "It's encouraging to see that these organizations are already taking both GDPR and ePrivacy compliance seriously, through both their strategic and budgetary planning. As Forrester's research indicates, all boats will rise when compliance is done well, and GDPR can be a transformational initiative that helps these organizations build deeper consumer trust."

Other findings from the study include:

Firms have been preparing for over a year. Nearly three-quarters of the firms surveyed said they began preparing for compliance in September 2016, if not earlier.

Balancing exceptional CX with compliance is critical. Once GDPR takes effect, 39% of respondents said they are most concerned about their ability to balance compliance with best in class customer experiences. Another third are also concerned that the required communications about customer data and privacy issues will impact customer experiences negatively. "This balance between compliance and CX is critical if firms want to continue to win, serve, and retain their customers in a post-GDPR world," according to the study.

GDPR will bring sweeping change. Nearly half (48%) of firms reported that after May 2018, their organization will emphasize privacy by design. Similarly, 36% believe privacy will be central to company culture after the deadline.

The study also includes key recommendations for companies looking to transform GDPR compliance into a business advantage. These include:

• Create a cross-functional privacy working group.
• Practice Privacy by design (PbD).
• Make privacy a corporate social responsibility.
• Create great experiences around consent and preference.

Download the study here.

About Evidon
Evidon, now a Crownpeak company, simplifies the complex world of digital governance by providing privacy and monitoring tools that help companies build trust with their customers while complying with a growing set of international regulations including the GDPR.

Crownpeak, parent company of Evidon, offers a digital experience platform made up of two flagship products: Digital Experience Management (DXM) and Digital Quality Management (DQM). DXM with built-in DQM empowers companies to quickly and easily create, deploy and optimize customer experiences across digital touchpoints at scale.

Together, Crownpeak and Evidon provide a complete digital experience platform that features enterprise web content management, digital governance and privacy compliance.