How to manage data privacy for data partnerships

Data sharing might sound straightforward – and it usually is – but there must be proper protections in place so all participants can pull valuable information while securing their own data. That’s why data privacy for data partnerships is so important.

Why does data privacy matter?

By its very nature, privacy is essential to the ongoing march of humanity. Without it, all the oversight, all the political and financial structures, all the great strides we’ve made as a people would disintegrate as citizens no longer have the freedom to make their own actions without being under the watchful eye of others – individuals, organizations and government alike.

And when it comes to protecting sensitive information, data privacy is just as important. In fact, living in such an information-rich world and with a burgeoning data economy, it’s essential that both individuals and enterprises have the security of data privacy, particularly when you consider all the value that can be derived from data partnerships.

How does the GDPR factor into data partnerships?

Chief Data Officers and those whose role it is to manage, collect or analyze data should be seeking out new ways to derive real value from not only their own data, but information housed by other organizations in relevant industries.

Typically this is achieved through data partnerships or multi-party data sharing initiatives. However, it’s not as easy as reaching out to a potential partner and sharing data at will. Instead, you’ll need to stay across any and all data sharing regulations and adhere to the policies within.

The Privacy Act of Australia and GDPR both factor into data partnerships in exactly this way. Both oversee the handing of information by individuals and parties, and if breached the perpetrator/s will be liable for prosecution or severe penalties.

That’s why it’s essential that Chief Data Officers abide by all relevant data regulations according to region and share that knowledge with the appropriate parties within the company.

How you can get data partnerships right

Some of the biggest companies in the world are realizing the power and potential of data partnerships. Some, even, have been designed entirely on the premise that their data sharing practices will make them profitable.

Uber, Facebook, Netflix, Spotify, Lyft, Wix, Fujitsu, Atlassian, Citrix – all these companies and more are making serious investments into data partnerships. What’s more, they are leveraging those partnerships to derive real value from the shared data and use it to inform their decision-making and future business practices.

There are a number of different ways to dive into the new data economy, from simple data partnerships with another provider in your industry (so long as there are adequate data sharing frameworks in place), to joining a major data sharing initiative on a secure, fully governed platform like Data Republic.

The only question you need to answer is: where do we want to begin?