Two Fifths Of Businesses Are Confused By Data Management Legislation

A new survey by managed data services provider Six Degrees suggests that almost half of UK businesses are confused by data management regulation.

The firm found that despite widespread concerns over data sovereignty, more than a third of businesses that rely on managed service providers have no idea whether their data is housed in the UK or abroad.

“With businesses relying on cloud providers that might be operating anywhere in the world, it’s time to start asking these questions and make compliance and sovereignty a business priority,” said Campbell Williams, strategy and marketing director at Six Degrees Group.

Dazed and confused

After surveying IT professionals at last year’s IP Expo, Six Degrees came to the conclusion that complying with data protection rules in the UK and Europe remains a challenge. The company says that 43 percent of respondents admitted they didn’t understand the compliance legislation when it came to managing data.

This has led to over half of those surveyed indicating that they would rather use a managed service provider to help them cope with their data compliance rather than manage it internally.

“Whether it’s reporting to the FCA to meet PCI DSS standards or complying with CDE standards or even considering your ROCs or observing the EAA – today’s legislation is riddled with confusing jargon,” said Six Degrees in a statement.

Following the NSA surveillance scandal, 86 percent of those questioned thought the location of their data was a concern. At the same time 35 percent of respondents who use a managed service provider admitted to not knowing where their data is housed.

“Organisations need to manage vital financial information, customer details and intellectual property correctly in order to comply with the latest regulations. It is troubling that the majority of IT professionals surveyed have an insufficient understanding of how to make sure they are compliant,” said Williams.

“There’s clearly been a breakdown in communications between the compliance and IT departments, but considering the number of rules out there, perhaps it’s not surprising. Something needs to be done to help UK industries to make sense of this maze of legislation.”

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