On 26 March 2019, a conference organized by Grant Thornton was held in Bologna, focussing on the state-of-the-art GDPR and the role of the DPO. During the conference, many themes were discussed, such as the value of Information security & privacy solutions, equal to 1.19 billion Euros, which represents an increase by 9% compared to 2018, and the role of the Data Protection Officer, which is today present in 71% of businesses. Speakers in the event were, among others, , CEO of Grant Thornton Consultants, and Renato Sesana, partner at Grant Thornton Financial Advisory Services.
“One business out of four has already completed an implementation process” explained Francesco Pastore. “There is still a long way to go, but we are close to an important revolution and significant investment is expected in the in the near future for businesses”.
But how will GDPR evolve in the near future?
“Many businesses have not complied with the regulation, yet, and many regulatory updates are yet to be issued” explained Renato Sesana. “The most relevant one is probably that relevant to certification mechanisms. I presume that small and medium enterprises will adopt these mechanisms in the near future, because they provide some advantages for businesses”.
Certainly, this is a challenge for the future and Italian businesses must be able to take such opportunities to be competitive, especially in the international market.