Twelve Months ahead of the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation 2016 (GDPR) into UK law, leading advisers on data management and compliance have formed an Alliance to provide advice and support for what has been described by the UK’s Information Commissioner as a “game changer for everyone”.

The Alliance includes prominent Welsh organisations in the fields of law, software and IT, information security and standards consulting. It was created to raise awareness and to provide a single point of access to the range of expertise and skills any business will need to become GDPR compliant.

GDPR aims to harmonise data protection laws across the EU and provide stronger rights for individuals that reflect the monumental increase in the use of technology and data in business and personal lives. To meet the new standards required, all businesses need to have in place comprehensive but proportionate measures to minimise the risk of breaches and uphold the protection of personal data.

The importance of organisations taking GDPR seriously are reflected in the potential increase in fines that rise from a maximum of £500,000 under the current Data Protection Act to the new higher amount of EUR20,000,000 or 4% of annual worldwide group turnover.

Chris Roberts, co-founder of the Alliance with Amit Singh (both of Highend Software), said;

“With only 12 months to run before the legislation comes in to force, we recognised that large numbers of companies were struggling to understand the impact on their organisation and the steps they need to take. We concluded that by creating this Alliance, the first of its kind in the UK, to act as a centre of excellence it would benefit businesses as the compliance deadline fast approaches.”

Founding members of the Alliance include Acuity Legal, Burnt Wolf, Business Doctors, Geldards, Highend Software, Penarth Management, Pervade Software, PiSys.net, Stratel and Wolfberry.

Graham L Morgan at Business Doctors stresses the importance of business owners getting on the front foot and planning effectively to deal with the waves of bureaucracy that are hitting them at this time. Drawing on independent experts who can guide your approach will take the possible pain out of getting your business ready.

As well as providing support relevant to their expertise, the Alliance members will provide organisations with guidance on what steps to take, regular updates on the implementation timetable and a calendar of planned events to increase awareness.