Amperity calls on Aussie brands to tighten data strategy following Optus breach

The recent Optus breach is a stark reminder that data privacy is a critical issue for brands if they want to maintain customer trust and loyalty, says Billy Loizou, area vice president, Amperity.

Says Loizou: “Data privacy is a very important issue and one that brands will have to really consider ongoing. The brands of today need a managed strategy for customer data – one that ensures accuracy, compliance, governance, access and control.

“To put this in the lens of the customer, the customer expects the brand to know them and use the data to serve them. Calling support, managing returns, getting the best experience – these are all things customers demand. Customers like loyalty programs, personalised service, and all the benefits that come from sharing information about them.”

A data strategy designed with security at top of mind

According to Loizou, brands now really don’t have a choice. They have to bring the data together, not for their own benefit, but for the benefit of the customer. However they need to do it in a way that is designed for security.

Says Loizou: “Businesses need to be able to bring all the disparate customer data together, only allow permissions for some employees dependent on roles, and then create the right views with only the data needed for those teams. Compliance teams need to use the right solutions to keep their most valuable asset safe and secure at every stage of use.”

Tips to getting data compliance right

1. Compliance with GDPR: Solutions like Amperity can resolve identities across multiple representations of the same customer – combining multiple emails, duplicative loyalty accounts, and more – ensuring compliance with regulations. Bring all the data together so you can manage a customer identity. If that customer then no longer wants you to have access to their information you can then accurately remove Personal Identifying Information (PII) from the sources it came from.
2. Faster Audits and Suppression: Rapidly discover customer information from every system, making it easy to pull together and deliver relevant data for audit requests. Suppress individuals in all downstream systems with a few clicks for “right-to-be-forgotten” requests.
3. Forward Thinking Security: Keep customer data safe with security best practices, including PII-redaction, user-based access and permissions, and encryption upon ingest, at rest, and upon egress.

Billy Loizou has 10+ years experience in design, technology and marketing. He has worked with some of the world’s most renowned and respected brands, helping them improve their customer experience and drive profitability.