What is Data Mapping?

Data mapping is a process that identifies the personal data you hold, where you store that personal data, how you process it, and who you share this data with.

You need to carry out data mapping to gain a detailed understanding of how personal data flows through your business, from the collection of personal data to its storage on third-party systems such as CRM tools.

Why is Data Mapping Important for GDPR?

Under the GDPR, organisations must maintain clear records of their data processing activities, and a data map is a core element of this requirement. Whether your organisation collects customer details for sales, stores data in the cloud, or transfers it to third-party processors, mapping ensures every data point is accounted for.

Data Mapping Makes It Easier To...

• Understand how personal data moves within and outside your organisation.
• Identify any areas where personal data may be at risk.
• Fulfil regulatory obligations, such as notifying authorities of data breaches.

What is an Example of Data Mapping?

Let’s assume that you have a SaaS-based accounting software that you sell to accountants. When you want to send marketing emails to your prospects, you will need to customise your marketing emails to the specific needs of your prospects. You will therefore need to understand the previous purchase histories of your customers to personalise your offerings.

These data points however will likely be in different databases and, in different formats. For instance, your sales team might have these records in a CSV file whereas your marketing team has this data in excel files.

Combining this data will help you target your prospects more effectively by drawing highly accurate insights about them, and you will better understand where this personal data is stored and which third-party tools are used to process this data.

Benefits of Data Mapping for Compliance and Security

Having a clear, accurate data map provides several advantages:

• Streamlined Data Audits: When preparing for a regulatory audit, a data map ensures you can quickly demonstrate where data is located and how it's handled.
• Enhanced Security: A thorough understanding of data flow can help identify vulnerabilities where personal data may be exposed, allowing security measures to be applied more effectively.‍
• Transparency and Accountability: In today’s environment, both regulators and customers expect transparency around data processing. Data maps provide the foundation for this, helping to build customer trust.

Key Features of a Good Data Map

• Comprehensive Coverage: Your data map should account for all personal data flows within and outside the organisation.
• Regular Updates: Since data processing activities can change, your data map must be updated regularly.

Visualisation Tools: A good data map provides a visual representation of how data moves across systems, making it easier to identify risks.

Automating Your Data Mapping

Automated data mapping tools are becoming essential as they help businesses efficiently manage their data without the risk of manual errors. These tools regularly scan your systems and automatically update the data flow maps, ensuring that all personal data is tracked and accounted for. For organisations with vast data flows, automation not only saves time but also boosts accuracy and compliance.

Using automated data mapping software tools have the following key advantages:

• Automated GDPR data mapping saves time and requires less resources: On average, data analysts spend around 50-60% their time on data preparation, which includes data mapping. When you use automated data mapping software, you save a significant amount of time and resources. For example, you will not need to do manual coding and you will not need to waste your developers’ time.

• Mitigating risks: When you rely on manual coding to carry out data mapping, you run the risk of having inaccurate data and inconsistent data mapping. For example, your marketing team may not know all the IT systems where your data is located or they may miss out on certain details. However, an automated data mapping software eliminates these risks and guarantees that your data mapping is accurate, error-free and up-to-date. This is because the automated data mapping software can scan across all your IT systems and uncover all third party tools and programs you may not even know about. Therefore, it is more reliable compared to manual data mapping.

• Streamline GDPR compliance efforts: When you comply with your GDPR obligations such as when you fulfil data subject access requests or when you create required GDPR documents, you need to have a detailed view of all data you hold and you need to know where each data asset is located. For example, if your sales team is using a new software tool to store prospects’ data, you need to know about this tool and how it processes and shares data. Automated data mapping software ensures that no stone is left unturned.

Ensure GDPR compliance with Privasee

Let's look at how Privasee’s automated data mapping tool helps you carry out GDPR-compliant data mapping:

• Scanning your domain (including website and web app), identifying your vendors and mapping data flows: Privasee’s data mapping software determines all your vendors and identifies active cookies on your website.  The Privasee portal takes your personal data map and creates policies/cookie banners from this information. ‍
• Keeping up to date with global regulations:  You do not need to spend thousands to make changes to your cookie policy, privacy policy, data processing agreement and cookie banner. Privasee automatically updates your privacy assets with the information from their data map that they always keep up to date.‍
• Multiple Languages support: If your website is accessible to users in countries that speak other languages, you should have your cookie policy in those languages as well. Privasee’s policy helps you have it in multiple languages.

Key Takeaways & Wrap Up

In this article, we have helped you understand the following:

• Data mapping identifies the personal data you hold, where it's stored, how it's processed, and with whom it’s shared, providing a crucial foundation for GDPR compliance.
• A clear data map streamlines regulatory audits, enhances security by identifying vulnerabilities, and promotes transparency, building customer trust.
• Privasee’s automated tool regularly updates your data map, reduces manual errors, and ensures compliance with evolving global regulations.

To learn how Privasee can help you implement GDPR-compliant data mapping, book a demo today. 

Data Mapping FAQs

How can a data map improve data security?

A data map helps identify vulnerabilities in data flows, allowing businesses to address security risks more effectively.

What industries benefit most from data mapping?

Any industry handling personal data, such as healthcare, finance, and e-commerce, benefits greatly from data mapping for compliance and data protection.

How often should a data map be updated?

Ideally, a data map should be updated regularly - at least annually. Especially when there are changes in data processing activities.

Can small businesses use data mapping tools?

‍Yes, automated data mapping tools are scalable, making them suitable for businesses of all sizes, including small enterprises.