Post-GDPR: The Impacts On Your Office Paper


There have been countless discussions around the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and how this legislation has impacted businesses. Although this legislation has been enforced by the European Parliament, it will continue to impact businesses around the world that have relationships with European consumers

The legislation has been a hot topic across world media in a bid to unify the data of European citizens. Although the 25th of May has passed, and businesses believe that they have become compliant with the regulations, they must continue to monitor and adjust their operations to avoid the harsh penalties that have been set out. These include: 4% annual global turnover or €20m fee – whichever appears greater in relation to the non-compliant organisation. 

Telco retail specialists Maplewave discover how your business could be affected by paper documents. 

Does Your Business Store Paper? 

More businesses are turning away from the thought of storing paper in their business — by making use out of the technological advancements. However, 31% of businesses are still ‘piled high with paper’ and only 17% are almost paperless all together. 

With the legislation in full swing; businesses have never been at more risk of this legislation. Consumers now have the right to know that their data is being handled in the safest way possible and, if not, this legislation has made it easier for them to seek legal action if they require — to help combat potential data breaches

With countless amounts of paper being handled across your business; making sure that you are in line with GDPR can be a timely and costly job — however, opting for paperless solutions can help combat this. 

Businesses are uncertain of where they stand with Article 17 of GDPR otherwise known as the ‘right to be forgotten’. For organisations which have kept information for a long period of time in an insufficient way because there has been no previous enforced structure to follow, this could potentially be detrimental and cause great implications on their business. 

Working with paper can be dangerous to your business as you can never be entirely compliant. If a customer who has previously given their personal information to your organisation was to make a request to erase their details, you will find yourself asking many questions throughout the process of removal. 

As well as this, it may become difficult to find certain information — whether you’ve got it onsite or offsite. You might even be wondering whether you still have the information; regardless, you will still be required to check, which could slow down business operations on a much larger scale. 

Does Your Business Print Paper? 

Most businesses have adopted technological devices but have failed to continually upgrade them — which could be a massive issue under GDPR. Products are becoming smarter, which is allowing us to have greater control over operational activities. These include printers and fax machines, which are now referred to as internet-capable and end-point devices and although this level of accessibility is beneficial, there are some drawbacks that accompany it. 

Human error could play a big part in this too. If a sensitive document has been sent to print and, assuming that the printer does not have a pull-print solution (which allows an authorized individual to release the paper), the wrong person could collect the document. If this document has classified data on it, you’ve had a data breach. 

Managing paper can become a difficult task, especially when using outdated technology sources that cant detect what’s been sent to a printer by who and what was released. This could make it difficult if you were to have a data breach, as investigations would need to try and find who was responsible and who picked up the documents. 

If you opt for paperless solutions as a business, the burden of GDPR will not be as damaging. Implementing a paperless strategy would also be cost effective for your business, while offering environmental benefits too.


I hope you enjoyed this article about the impact of General Data Protection Regulation on your office paper and printed records.

Interested in more articles about protecting your business data?

Read My Posts:

- Reasons Why Business Data Security Is A Top Priority 

- How To Maximize Your Online Business Security

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