Tag: Business

Irish tech SMEs urged to join The Innovation Exchange to collaborate with leading multinational corporations

The Innovation Exchange, a programme that accelerates digital transformation for large multinational businesses (MNCs) by connecting them with indigenous Irish SMEs, is calling on innovative technology scale-ups to join the programme and collaborate with MNCs to help address their challenges.

Created by Furthr (formerly Dublin BIC) in partnership with Skillnet Ireland, the programme has announced additional funding to meet higher-than-expected demand. The new funding comes following a successful initial phase which enabled collaboration between 200 SMEs with some of Ireland’s leading corporations including Musgrave, Heineken, Ryanair, Glanbia, ESB and AXA.

At ‘Innovating for the Future’, an event held today to report its first six-month performance, The Innovation Exchange announced that it is to open its doors to an additional 100 digital transformation solutions providers to meet increasing demand from industry.

Discussing the programmes expansion at today’s event, Minister of State for Skills and Further Education, Niall Collins T.D. said: “I’m delighted to see The Innovation Exchange open its doors to a further 100 SMEs in 2022. With over 25 innovation challenges being published by some of Ireland’s leading multinationals this year alone, it offers ambitious tech SMEs great opportunities for growth.”

Conor Carmody, Programme Director, The Innovation Exchange, said: “The Innovation Exchange has had a strong start and the calibre of both corporates and SMEs participating has been very high. We are delighted to open applications for new technology SMEs to join the programme. We’re not only looking for tried and tested digital transformation solutions, but also for the ability to collaborate with large businesses who want to put their stamp on the end solution. If you’re a growing, solutions-focused SME then we would urge you to join The Innovation Exchange at a time when there are so many corporate challenges on the table.”

Mark Jordan, Chief Strategy Officer, Skillnet Ireland, said: “The Innovation Exchange has made great strides in its first six months, supporting the success of both large multinationals and indigenous SMEs. We are pleased to announce today’s expansion of the programme. The potential benefits to scaling companies extend way beyond signing a contract. By building the right capabilities, these firms are accessing a qualified sales pipeline and getting face time with prospective customers. I strongly encourage indigenous SMEs to consider the programme for a great opportunity to collaborate with leading multinational corporations.”

Launched in February 2022, The Innovation Exchange has had a number of successful outcomes to date, including 20 SMEs that have moved to a deeper engagement with a corporate partner, with one company announcing that it has signed a paid pilot.  Several other SMEs are in proof-of-concept discussions with a view to establishing a longer-term collaboration. More than 30 innovation challenges are expected to be published by large corporates for participating SMEs in 2022.

The paid pilot involves Exertis, an IT services company of DCC, and The Éclair Group (now Digital Workforce), a technology scale-up that is developing innovative solutions in robotics process automation. Exertis published an innovation challenge via The Innovation Exchange in May and The Eclair Group responded proposing a solution. Following a pitch and a proof-of-concept phase, a deal was agreed to enter a paid pilot.

The Innovation Exchange offers participants a range of benefits including:

  • A qualified sales pipeline and getting face time with prospective customers.
  • Opportunity to pitch your solution to prospective customers.
  • Gaining insights into markets and companies which helps SMEs pitch their solution more successfully.
  • Tailor-made training designed to improve performance of SME members when selling to large corporates.

myPOS obtains e-money licence from the Central Bank of Ireland & plans to grow local team

Award-winning fintech myPOS is announcing today that it has received authorisation as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) from the Central Bank of Ireland, the country’s financial services regulator.

myPOS, which provides point-of-sale payment acquiring and payment solutions to more than 150,000 small and medium-sized merchants in more than 30 European countries, plans to grow its Dublin-based team to around 30 by the middle of next year.

“Our international growth demands a talent pool, a strategic location and a robust legal and regulatory framework, and Ireland offers all of these,” said Stephane Pilloy, CEO of myPOS Ireland.

He added: “We are excited as the new EMI authorisation will enable us to bring all regulated services under the myPOS Group umbrella, therefore becoming even more efficient at empowering small businesses across Europe and accelerating our growth strategy.”

Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Seán Fleming TD, said: “I would like to congratulate myPOS on its new Irish license. The Government is focused on improving Ireland’s status as a global fintech hub, and I am pleased that myPOS has chosen Ireland as its European regulatory headquarters. All the best to the entire team and I look forward to following their success in the future.”

The new myPOS EMI authorisation comes in the wake of news that the fintech company is planning to open its second store and experience centre in France, while earlier this year it continued its expansion by opening stores in Rome and Bucharest. A Dublin experience centre is also planned for 2023.

Martin Shanahan, CEO, IDA Ireland said “The myPOS expansion is impressive and we are delighted that another of the world’s most dynamic organisations, which puts innovation in payments at the service of its merchants, has chosen Ireland as its European regulatory headquarters.”

myPOS is the only payment service provider in Europe that gives SMEs instant access to their funds from card transactions, at no added cost. As a result, more and more businesses are choosing myPOS, as shown by the continued growth in the platform’s transaction processing in the last year. The company is expected to meet its targeted annual growth of more than 60% and reach €8 billion in total payment volume, with circa 200k POS terminals in circulation.

Irish SMEs looking to digitalisation to future proof business and operate more cost effectively

Irish SMEs are investing in digitalisation to help future proof their businesses and operate more cost effectively at a time when they are concerned about the economy and rising costs of doing business according to a new survey commissioned by Google Ireland and conducted by Amárach.

The survey, commissioned ahead of Google’s International Small Business Week, found almost three quarters (72%) of  SMEs surveyed said that surviving the current period of economic uncertainty is a key priority over the next 12 months, while 71% are prioritising revenue and profit growth. In addition, the rising cost of doing business is a key concern for 63% of SMEs in the year ahead.

Despite this economic uncertainty and concern around rising costs, businesses recognised the impact that investing in digitalisation can have on managing costs and supporting growth.  Almost half (48%) of SMEs stated that digital skills and tools allow them to operate more cost effectively while 60% use them to connect with customers and 46% say it opens up new markets for their business. Further demonstrating the value of digital, 61% of those surveyed stated that digital skills are essential to future proofing their business.

When it comes to upskilling in digital, Irish SMEs are motivated to learn and willing to put in the time, with over 40% of SMEs surveyed having engaged in digital skills training over the past 12 months. However, there are still 20% of SMEs having not completed any digital skills training in the last two years and 19% having never completed any digital skills training at all.

Alice Mansergh, Director of Small Businesses at Google, said:

“It is really encouraging to see that Irish SMEs are embracing digital skills and tools to help them navigate this period of uncertainty and future proof their business. Notably, half the businesses surveyed see digital skills as indispensable to their business at this time. Today there is a digital divide, whereby even though more than 90% of Irish consumers are online, 45% of Irish businesses do not have a website. Helping businesses gain digital know-how and confidence are key to bridging the divide, and strengthening Ireland’s SME sector.  That’s why Google has come together with Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices to offer free training support for all.  Through our You’re the Business programme we’re providing free accessible training, in person or online, helping businesses get online, grow online and expand internationally.”

You’re the Business is a digital platform offering Irish SMEs access to free live and on-demand training sessions, geared toward supporting companies at all stages of their digitalisation journey. In addition, ten participants that demonstrate a commitment to digital will be awarded with a suite of customised supports, including mentorship and ad funding. In order to be considered as one of the ten firms to receive a package of tailored supports, SMEs can submit a video [via the You’re the Business site] detailing what their business means to them, as well as an example of how they have used digital to enhance their business. Submissions must be uploaded by 30th September 2022.

The survey also found that 66% of Irish SMEs believe that Ireland is a good place to own and operate a small business with 51% of those citing access to government supports like training and funding as a reason for that.

To mark International Small Business Week and to further support businesses on their digitalisation journey, Google Ireland has additional offers for Irish SMEs, available only during this week until September 16, including:

 

  • Save €200 off a Chromebook computer

  • Three months of Google Workspace’s business apps and collaboration tools at no charge

  • Get 60 Days of Shopify free of charge to help businesses create new websites

  • And more offers on the site at g.co/yourethebusiness on the “International Small Business Week” page

For further information on the various training modules as well as the opportunity to be awarded a customised support package, please visit: g.co/yourethebusiness

The Benefits Of Refining Your Company’s Processes When Looking To Expand

Growth is an achievement that every company desires. As your company grows, expansion becomes a reality that you must plan. And one of the vital things to consider during expansion is how to refine your company’s processes. All expansions come with changes to current processes to increase output capacity. Business expansion is crucial; you can improve your business and its standards if you do it right. Here are seven key benefits your company enjoys when you refine its processes.

Hindsight

Every strategy to refine your company’s processes begins with evaluating existing processes. You and your team must look closely at current practices to identify areas where improvement is needed. Of course, that means you get inside your company’s performance and the effectiveness of its processes. Hindsight is essential not just because it helps you make informed business decisions; it is far more critical because it gives you a sense of accomplishment considering your company’s growth. Hindsight will give you a deeper understanding of your company’s history so that you can confidently chart its future as you expand.

Employee Motivation 

There is a chance that your employees become sensitive to the monotony of their daily jobs. If that happens, employee motivation is reduced to the point where the function by rote. If your employees are at that stage already, your employees may need some inspiration. Refining your company’s processes for expansion provides all the motivation your employees need. Of course, there will be changes in hardware and human resources; that change may spark a new inspiration in your employees. But you need to be careful here; sometimes refining your work processes means changing employees from one position to another, and that’s where the advantage lies.

Improved Productivity

If you use software such as Sci-Net’s Microsoft business central, expanding your company provides you with the chance to improve productivity. How? The expansion offers an opportunity to carry out setting changes while setting up new offices or processes. Microsoft business central allows you to automate processes, manage data and exert complete control over your business processes. If you have not, it is a great idea to switch to Dynamics 365 business central to refine your company’s processes. You’ll likely increase employee productivity, reduce expenses, and get a better business outcome. Try out the Microsoft dynamics business central for your company.

Business Agility And Fluidity 

Refining your company’s processes helps your business to remain agile and fluid in the modern business world. Today modern technologies reduce the gap between companies but simultaneously open a chasm that businesses must cross to stay relevant. As you refine your company’s processes, you will enable integration with modern technologies such as cloud computing, ensuring that your company remains relevant while staying true to its goals. Business agility and fluidity are arguably two of the best attributes modern businesses need today. Modern technologies quickly become obsolete and only companies that can keep up with the latest versions retain their competitive edge.

Improved Time Management

Do you think your company is at its best speed? Wait until you refine specific processes and reduce the complicated tasks that your employees undertake. You can quickly increase your company’s speed by refining complex processes to free up time your employees can spend on other activities with more impact. Refining and standardising business processes as you expand ensure that your company retains its standards across all branches without issues. Refining complex processes save time; you get to keep those costs incurred from poor time management. Refining your company’s processes is one of the best decisions as you expand. As you implement strategies, ensure to maintain your standards.

Innovation

Sometimes, you are reluctant to try innovative solutions so that you don’t disrupt existing workflows. That’s understandable. The expansion allows you to innovate your business. That’s why refining your processes before and during expansion creates the best opportunity to establish new processes without upsetting existing ones. Although expansion gears towards the company’s goals, new objectives give employees a unique perspective to work on. You can innovate as you expand, creating a balance between new and existing processes. Innovation brings endless benefits, but the one that stands out the most is that your company can hit existing goals faster while retaining its identity.

Measurability And Consistency

All businesses need a model for measurability to ensure that standards remain constant or improved. That’s another benefit that process refinement brings to your company. Measurability helps you identify the areas where change is needed to meet your company’s goals and objectives. Measurability involves assessing your goals, identifying problems and possible solutions, and devising strategies to implement solutions. Refining your processes helps move your company from ‘here to there.’ In that way, your company can maintain a consistent standard without compromising core values. Consistency is your biggest asset in navigating the competition in your business niche.

Skills Shortage Threatens Cybersecurity of Companies

With increasing digitization, the threat of cyber attacks is also rising and so is the demand for IT security experts. According to the latest Risk & Cybersecurity Study by IT business Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), companies see the biggest challenge in cybersecurity not in the budget, but in the lack of professionals with relevant expertise. According to the study, half of European companies (49 percent) plan to hire professionals with cybersecurity skills in the future, with that figure rising to two-thirds (65 percent) in the US.

Skills shortage among top challenges for cybersecurity

Chief risk officers (CROs) and chief information security officers (CISOs) report in the survey that they have already had difficulty attracting (44 percent) and retaining (42 percent) talent with cyber risk and security skills in the past year.

The second biggest challenge according to the CROs and CISOs is a changing work environment with increased possibilities for remote work and the associated risks. For example, innumerable employees had to be given remote access to their employer’s systems and databases at short notice due to the pandemic and the resulting move to remote work. This opens up new points of attack for cybercriminals. Assessing security risks and quantifying their costs is the third biggest obstacle for the respondents.

Cybersecurity not a budget issue

Only tenth place in the ranking are budget constraints. The fact that the latter are affecting fewer and fewer companies is shown by the high level of willingness to invest: 52 percent of European companies and 62 percent of North American companies stated that they had increased their budgets for IT security since last year.

Commenting on the study’s findings, Gerard Grant, Director, Strategic Initiatives at TCS Ireland said “Keeping abreast of the most advanced tactics of cyber criminals is not a question of cost. Rather, the challenge lies in finding and retaining the right professionals with the required know-how.”

TCS employs over 1,100 people in Ireland across a range of high-skilled tech related roles. TCS operates a state-of-the-art Global Delivery Centre based in Letterkenny which includes an innovation lab and plans are now in place for building further business units, together with centres of excellence in cyber security and cloud services.

How companies ensure they have a recruiting edge

One measure alone can’t solve the skills shortage. “However, companies can help fill the skills gap by using external service providers for harder-to-staff work, such as 24/7 network monitoring, while growing talent internally by giving them exposure to not only the technical but the business aspects of cybersecurity,” says Gerard Grant. In addition, the study shows that the more frequently the board of directors engages in cybersecurity, the more successful the company is in finding and holding onto their top talent with cyber risk and security skills.

TCS’ study also finds that talent retention directly correlates with how a company stores its information. Cloud-positive organizations were found to have a slight advantage in retaining and recruiting talent with notoriously hard-to-find cyber skills, compared to those companies who think that on-premises or traditional data centre security is preferable to what is available via the cloud. In fact, embracing cloud platforms gives companies a five-point advantage in recruiting and retaining talent with cyber risk and security skills.

“As businesses look to keep up with rapidly evolving complexities in cybersecurity, the talent gap is widening,” said Bob Scalise, Managing Partner, Risk and Cyber Strategy, TCS. “Demonstrating a serious commitment to cybersecurity by sustained attention from senior leadership, funding, and process changes will be vital to recruiting and retaining top talent.”

The TCS Risk & Cybersecurity Study, published by the TCS Thought Leadership Institute, highlights the most pressing cybersecurity issues facing senior business leaders across Europe and North America. The study is based on the results of a survey of more than 600 CISOs and CROs, from companies with at least $1 billion in annual revenue, across banking & financial services, utilities, media & information services, and manufacturing. Topics include global risk, cybersecurity, resilience, and ecosystem/cloud security.  The survey took place in February and March 2022.

To view the full report and receive more information, visit on.tcs.com/risk-cybersecurity.

Registration in the UK for Sole Traders: key Tips

Starting a business at any level is incredibly tough, and that includes those who begin as smaller sole traders. At this level, it is easier for the proprietor to handle all business matters, but this changes with the speed of the operations’ growth. And at all levels, there needs to be a record of all things, financial or otherwise.

Elements such as paying taxes and filing assessment returns have to be taken on, and this includes sole trader registration. The two main institutions when it comes to registering companies and businesses of all sorts are Companies House and HMRC. The former deals only with operations that have multiple investors and the latter deals mainly with sole trader registration, according to Hoxtonmix. This body will not only allow sole traders to be recognized as legitimate operations, but also keep tabs on all their records. Before deciding to venture into the vast world of UK business alone, you would do well to understand every facet you may encounter.

Sole traders: choosing the right type

There are many ways in which aspiring entrepreneurs can choose to run their businesses. Two opposing extremes come to mind: having investors or going at it alone. Those who use the latter path are referred to as sole traders. The other style of business is limited companies. Compared to limited companies, sole traders get a few benefits and drawbacks:

Benefits

When you do business alone, you enjoy the following benefits:

  • Easier to get off the ground — registering a limited company is notoriously difficult due to the many forms needing to be filled; all that you need is a working idea and a registration at the HMRC, which is easier to do.
  • Finances are easier to track — as a sole trader, you need to submit relatively little information to the governing body as a record of your company’s progress (as such, your accountant cannot charge obscene amounts for their services).
  • All facets of the operation are kept private — because of the registration body involved, there is no obligation to reveal your information to the public; this allows you to keep the financial state of your business hidden from competitors.
  • Easier to transform — based on whatever direction the enterprise chooses to take as it goes forward, it is easier for sole traders to bring in more investors; this is not the case with limited companies, where transformation is almost non-existent.
  • Profits are not shared — this is the main factor that attracts people to this route. A lack of investing members means that all the profits will go to the owner.

Drawbacks 

Ironically, these also have to do with the fact that sole traders operate alone. As such, they lack the resources and protection that are provided by having additional people seated at the table:

  • Potential customers are hard to win over — sole traders may offer products or services of great quality, but the public will always favor more accomplished or established entities; this particularly affects those in industries that deal with necessities such as food, medicine, and tech.
  • Tax issues could arise — the amount of money you can take home from the profits is significantly larger in organizations that employ dividends; sole traders on the other hand do not, and this is due to the tax upside their limited counterparts receive.
  • A possible lack of longevity — because they are essentially run by one person, any harm that befalls the said proprietor could mean that the business will come to a standstill; to compound this problem, there is no given limited time to recover before resuming operations and this could severely handicap the business.
  • Future liabilities — because they fund and reap the rewards solo, sole traders also fall responsible for all losses faced; the same applies to all legal and tax issues, which could lead to financial ruin.

 

Because of the potential for large-scale issues, the typical entrepreneur of this sort will not partake in large-scale operations. The type of business they usually go for is smaller in scale, with a limited number of things that could go wrong.

The registration process

Registration as a sole trader is a fairly easy process, mainly because you are dealing with the HMRC. You can also do research and find extra useful information that corresponds to your business needs and requirements. This process is as follows:

  • It begins with reaching out to the governing body and informing them of your business style;
  • From this point, a form will be given to you and later the filled-out documents are sent back to the organization;
  • They will review it and send you a code made up of 10 numbers (this code will not only be your tax reference, but a way to access your online account).

Final thoughts

With the registration under the HMRC, you can begin to perform certain duties, such as paying your taxes and following laws concerning sole traders. This registration will only work with transparency, so it is important to reveal all financial aspects of your operation to the governing body.

Outside of this, all sole traders need to ensure as much risk prevention as possible before continuing with their project and growing it. Such measures include relatively simple decisions such as having an accountant sort your affairs and keeping your private and business accounts separate. In case things truly escalate, it is important to have insurance against such potential issues. All this is done to help grow the company smoothly into possibly becoming a limited company.

Guidelines For The Perfect eCommerce Hero Image

If you visit a new website today, chances are that among the many metrics that you might use to judge it, visual appeal is one of them. It will not even take you more than 0.05 seconds before you have formed an opinion.

This means that as a website owner or even a web developer, you need to ensure that the hero image of your website – this is the first image people see when they visit your website – is perfectly designed to avoid losing website visitors.

The perfect eCommerce hero image plays a crucial role in creating a good impression on your customers. You should use this image to show your brand identity, the theme of your business, and what your business deals with.

But how do you create the perfect eCommerce hero image? What are some important tips for you to follow?

Be Effective With Image Color

As an eCommerce business, you have selected a color or a number of them in the process of building a brand for your business. This is the color that your eCommerce website visitors will use when judging your brand.

This means that when creating a hero image for the eCommerce site, you need to make sure that the image reflects the colors of your brand. For instance, if your brand color is blue, you do not need to have yellow hero images. You can, however, mix the colors.

However, you can also use color to create an emotional appeal or create a certain character using your hero image. When doing that, consider mixing colors with your brand color. For example, you can use red to create passionate emotions.

Clarity is Very Important

One of the main reasons for including a hero image on your eCommerce website is to ensure that your site visitors will immediately understand what the image stands for. It is also supposed to let them (the site visitors) understand what you do.

This brings us to clarity. You need to ensure that your hero image is clear and easy to understand. A site visitor should not start reading other things to find out more about your site because of a poor hero image.

In addition, if you have more than one image, it is recommended to stick to a single idea for every image. For instance, if your hero image shows one of your products, then the focus should be on that particular image.

Consistency is Key

Imagine visiting an eCommerce website that deals with football merchandise to buy a jersey from your favorite club. However, the first image you see shows a person playing basketball. Chances are that you will think that you are on the wrong site and look for another one.

This means that it is important for you as an eCommerce site owner to ensure that your hero image is related to what your business deals with. It should relate to the site content and the product images on your site.

In addition, ensure that there is consistency between the hero image and the other images on the site. If you deal with football merchandise, then ensure that by looking at the hero image, a site visitor will see that you deal with football merchandise.

Collages Make Great Hero Images

Did you know that you can use image collages as your hero image on your eCommerce website? Well, most eCommerce websites deal with multiple products. For instance, taking the example of football merchandise above, you might be dealing with jerseys, socks, shoes, and balls, among others.

So, what do you do when you want to create a single hero image that shows more than one image of the products that you deal with? One of the best ways is to use a free collage maker to create collages for your product images.

When doing that, it is important to observe all the other tips discussed in this article. For instance, ensure that the image colors reflect the same colors of your brand. In addition, they should be clear and easy on the eyes of your site visitors.

Add Text to Hero Images

If you follow all the tips discussed in this article, you might not need to add text to your hero images. This is because the perfect eCommerce hero image is enough to persuade your site visitors to do business with you.

That notwithstanding, adding text to hero images can also be used to highlight your brand and its message. However, you need to be careful when using text on hero images to ensure that the text serves the purpose it is supposed to serve.

If you follow these tips, you will create a great eCommerce hero image that converts and persuades site visitors to engage with you.

Siemens establishes R&D operations in Shannon, with a €7 million investment and the establishment of its first global ‘Cloud EDA’ R&D group

Siemens Digital Industries Software will establish a software research and development group in Shannon, Co. Clare. The multimillion-euro investment will focus on High Performance Computing (HPC) in the Cloud for semiconductor design.

The project, which is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland, is the first ‘Cloud EDA’ R&D group to be established by Siemens Digital Industries Software globally, and enhances Ireland already a strong reputation of in Cloud Software Development and HPC R&D.

This division is expected to create more than 25 new and highly impactful R&D roles in Shannon over the next three years, focused on delivering cutting edge cloud HPC environments for Siemens EDA workloads.

Tánaiste & Minister for Enterprise Trade & Employment Leo Varadkar said: “This is great news from Siemens, investing €7m in Shannon and creating 25 new highly skilled jobs over the next three years. It really demonstrates the skill and reputation of the company’s existing staff here that such a significant investment would be made in such an area of importance for the company. The very best of luck to the new team.”

Joe Sawicki, VP, Engineering, Siemens EDA, said: “We are excited about the new R&D division in Shannon focusing on Cloud development. The cloud represents a step change in capability for our Electronic Design Automation (EDA) customers and harnessing its potential will be key for our continued success.”

Martin Gennery, Sr. Director for Siemens Industries Software Limited and the site lead in Shannon added: “It is excellent to see Siemens demonstrate its continued commitment to Shannon as a strategic location by locating its first software R&D division in Ireland here. Due to Shannon’s central location in the mid-west between Limerick and Galway it has always attracted top talent. This expansion offers an opportunity to work on the latest technologies while benefiting from the work life balance delivered by hybrid working based in the mid-west.”

Siemens EDA (formerly Mentor Graphics) has had a significant presence in Shannon for over 20 years, delivering key financial and business operations worldwide. The Shannon operation of Siemens Digital Industries Software currently employs 150 people and is continually growing.

The rapidly expanding software R&D group is commencing recruiting for roles related to a multi-cloud hybrid PaaS/SaaS project including Cloud Infrastructure, Software Development, Application Security, DevOps, HPC & EDA.

Denis Curran, IDA Ireland’s Head of Property & Regional Development said: “Siemens is a longstanding employer in the Mid-West region.  The addition of this new R&D function and the associated transformational impact on the position of the Irish site within the global organisation is significant. I wish to congratulate Siemens on this expansion and wish them every success”

For more information visit https://new.siemens.com/ie/en/company/jobs/search-careers.html

32% of firms in Ireland say they are “not prepared at all” for a Cookie-less future

32% of firms in Ireland say they are “not prepared at all” for a future which will preclude them from using 3rd party cookies. In March of 2021, Google Chrome, the world’s biggest browser, announced the phasing out of third-party cookies, which are a key component of online advertising, and enable a company to effectively target particular audiences for their products or services. By late 2023, third-party cookies will no longer be supported on the search engine.

The Compliance Institute, who rolled out a survey of 144 compliance professionals within Irish organisations nationwide, say the results speak to a severe lack of communication between the two departments that will play the most crucial roles in ensuring that businesses successfully adapt to the new changes, namely the compliance and marketing departments. The lack of collaboration between the two could very well prevent the organisation from fulling its regulatory duties and meeting the requirement of data protection legislation.

Further highlights from the Compliance Institute Cookie Survey reveal:

  • 6 in 10 say compliance and data protection teams within their organisation do not have a clear understanding of how 3rd party cookies are used within the organisation
  • 46% say the compliance function within their organisation has little to no involvement in aspects of marketing such as first & third-party cookies and data capture

Speaking of the findings, Michael Kavanagh, CEO of Compliance Institute ,

“The findings highlight a sharp knowledge gap that exists within compliance and data protection departments of Irish organisations, and it seems that this is largely due to a communication blockage with the people in the business that are at the forefront of this type of data collection and utilisation i.e. those whose expertise and responsibility lies in marketing.

Major changes are coming down the tracks and there will be no getting around this. All organisations will be forced to change their practices, and find other ways to collect information needed to research the market and target key audiences while keeping within the boundaries of data protection laws.

But it is very hard to see how the GDPR requirement for data protection by design and default is being effectively implemented if nearly 6 in 10 respondents have little or no involvement in first- and third-party data strategies and data capture, and 32% have no involvement at all in the development of alternative strategies.

There is no way that these organisations can effectively prepare for the changes, unless they change their strategy and allow for and enable much clearer lines of communication.

Marketers need to do more to engage with their compliance colleagues. And compliance teams need to take the time to get to understand, what is, a fundamental part of their business, and one with a high potential risk for GDPR breaches”.