POPIA in South Africa came into effect in July 2020 and if you have not started with your compliance journey, you need to act
fast, as the one-year grace implementation period draws closer to the end.
It is never too late to start and several quick wins can assist you in kicking off your POPIA compliance journey. But now is the time to
commit.
You can start by inculcating POPIA compliance in the day-to-day management of your business so that it becomes second nature — just like a sales or other process.
Many sources offer POPIA training, and some of them are even free. Just remember that often you get what you pay for. Before deciding on a training provider, make sure to read reviews and feedback from other businesses that have undergone this training.
Many companies believe that finding data requires a massive data mapping exercise and the purchase of expensive data mapping tools. This is
not the case. The best way to find out how personal information flows through your business is to look at how it interacts with your current business processes.
Think of how you onboard new employees into your business or how you deal with new customers, for example.
Securing this data is much easier than you think. Most installations of Windows and Mac OS have disk encryption tools built-in. By just making sure that you encrypt the desktop and laptop computers in your business you have already gone a
long way to protecting personal information, even if there will be further steps you need to take.
POPIA compliance is good for your business because customers deserve it. You will soon find that it comes with added benefits for your own business such as structuring your data and being able to provide prospective customers with the assurance that protecting their personal information is something you take seriously.
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