Whilst Councils are used to managing masses of data, the recent introduction of the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) has highlighted just how important it is to know what data you are collecting and ensuring you handle it correctly. Local authorities are unique organisations in terms of the sheer breadth of data that they are required to collect and process, and as such they pose some unique challenges for IT system designers.

The ESB platform was designed with effective data management as a key objective long before GDPR hit the headlines, and in this article we will take a look at some of the high-level features that can help an organisation stay on top of their data.

Consolidation

Replacing many legacy systems with an enterprise service delivery platform such as ESB allows data to be stored in a single place, eliminating the uncontrolled sprawl of data amongst varying systems and ad hoc spreadsheets.

Archiving

ESB’s in-built archiving capabilities allow data to be automatically archived or deleted entirely after set periods of time. Rules can be used to archive and delete records based on specific outcomes.

Anonymising Data

Sometimes you wish to keep a record in the system but are required to anonymise certain fields. ESB provides out-of-the-box capabilities for this with no complex configuration needed.

Data Vocabulary

Many processes capture the same set of core data – such as name and contact details. Our Data Vocabulary allows you to create a common set of core fields that can be shared across every process that collects the same type of data. It is then possible to use our Data Management module to easily query that data and retrieve the appropriate results – great for subject access requests and the “right to be forgotten”.

If you would like to learn more about how ESB can help with your GDPR compliance requirements, please get in touch with us. If you already have ESB in your organisation and would like to leverage the power of the various features of the platform to maximum effect contact your account manager for more details.