Paving the road to digital transformation
The go live date for POPIA has come and gone but it does not mean you can forget about ongoing compliance. There may have been some questions and frustrations as to why we needed to go through such lengths to ensure POPIA compliance but when one looks into it, you realise that it actually helps our businesses forge forward on the road to digitalisation.
We often hear, and speak about digital transformation and its importance in businesses moving forward to remain relevant. Digital transformation enables POPI,increases efficiency and allows for secure storage of information – directly on the cloud.
Companies working in a traditional office environment – using paper and filing cabinets – will continue to struggle with compliance while faced with the almost impossible task of securing the personal information of their clients and staff.
POPIA experts recommend that best practice for documents printed out should allow for the authorised individual to work on the document and then immediately archive the document to ensure that the information is protected. Printed documents are not allowed to be kept on desks or left lying around in an open plan office. They further advise that filing cabinets should be secured behind locked doors and additional ‘physical’ controls be put in place to avoid unauthorised personnel accessing the information.
When we embrace digital transformation, the protection of information is simplified. With a solution like Capisol, data is stored securely and tracked in the cloud – with all the necessary firewalls and access controls, making compliance with regulations a lot less complex. There is no sure-fire way to protect documents if they are printed, even in the strictest of environments. When you embrace cloud technology, like Capisol, documents can be safely stored, encrypted and password protected –a multi-levelled approach to protecting personal information.
Sometimes we are forced into improvement but ultimately it benefits our development. To quote Oprah Winfrey, “We can’t become what we need to be by remaining what we are.”
To explore how Capisol can help you on this digitalisation and assist in elements of your POPIA compliance, visit https://www.capisol.co.za/popi-compliant/ and contact us for a demo.
