Global companies expecting fines over new EU data rules

A new report has revealed that around 52 percent of global companies expect to be fined for non-compliance with the upcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a new ruling within the European Union.

The study commissioned by SaaS provider Intralinks and conducted by analyst firm Ovum showed that, this, too, is the average response among top nations such as UK, US, and Germany, where, 53 percent, 58 percent and 62 percent respectively may face a fine.

The mission of the study was to see the level of preparedness of businesses for the new regulations, and was conducted among IT decision-makers across Europe, the Americas and Australasia.

Given the admission of the lack of preparedness for the upcoming regulations, the study also showed that two-thirds of global firms would review their business strategies in some European countries in the next year.

This comes along with another outlook from 68 percent of respondents, which said that the new regulation would increase the cost of doing business in Europe. Of these respondents, over 30 percent expect their budgets to rise by more than 10 percent over the next two years, wherein costs may include hiring specialists in the field.

The survey also revealed that 63 percent of the respondents believe that another down side of the new law will be the tougher competition for US firms in Europe. Parallel to that, 70 percent think that the new legislation will favor businesses based in Europe.

"New regulations, such as the GDPR, are seriously worrying global businesses", said Ovum senior analyst Alan Rodger. "Different jurisdictions are imposing inconsistent and often incompatible mandates for how personally identifiable information is stored, processed and shared".

"This is already creating confusion and uncertainty, leaving fundamental questions unanswered, such as how to interpret data location requirements. Organizations need technology options that help them react to a rapidly changing regulatory environment".

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