The upcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe is expected to force companies to review their business strategies, according to a survey conducted by Intralinks.
The survey showed that 66% of global companies are planning to review their business strategies in Europe in the wake of GDPR, with 68% of the respondents claiming that it will increase the costs of doing business in Europe.
However, over 50% feel that they will be unable to fulfil the requirements set out by the EU.
The GDPR is a European Union Directive, which was created to control the progression of personal data within the European Union.
It is aimed at harmonising the current data protection laws in place across the EU.
70% of respondents predict an increase in spending which will be required to meet data sovereignty requirements, and more than 30% of the respondents expect their budgets to rise by more than 10% over the next two years.
38% of the respondents are planning to update their data privacy strategies, and said that they were looking to hire experts in the subject, while 27% plan to hire a chief privacy officers.
However, though companies are concerned about the new GDPR, yet 73% of the respondents plan to implement Infrastructure as a Service to store regulated and sensitive data by mid-2018, followed by Mobile Applications, and Internet of Things to store data.
Conservative Member of European Parliament Dr Syed Kamall said: "With this regulation, it is essential to balance the protection of civil liberties with creating economic growth and innovation.
"Addressing the concerns which have been raised during the process is a key priority, so that we create a Regulation which provides opportunity in the EU, creates a legal level playing field, and encourages consumer trust and investment."
