Adaptive’s Dublin R&D hub at coalface of EU’s metadata challenge

12 Oct 2016

Firms who fail to comply with the new GDPR rules could face fines of up to 4pc of global turnover. Image: GTS/Shutterstock

Businesses across Europe that breach the EU’s forthcoming General Data Protection Regulation face fines of up to 4pc of global turnover. A Dublin R&D team may have the answer.

The stringent new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules which come into place in 2018 will place stringent challenges on businesses and fundamentally transform the data protection landscape.

The rules contain tougher penalties for companies with fines of up to 4pc of global turnover.

‘Data only becomes valuable when you understand what it means and link categories to business objectives’
– BRENDAN CANNON

But where it gets particularly tricky is the detail: large companies will be required to appoint a data protection officer, all companies must disclose data breaches within 72 hours and individuals will have the right to data portability to switch more easily between services.

Adaptive comes out top in Gartner Magic Quadrant

Adaptive’s Dublin R&D hub at coalface of EU’s metadata challenge

Pictured from left: Michael Sullivan, CMO, Brendan Cannon, COO, Pete Rivett, CTO, Noel Dillon, head of EMEA Sales, and Padraig Coakley, head of EMEA Operations

According to Brendan Cannon, chief operating officer of Adaptive and managing director of the company’s Dublin operations, companies will need to have a total understanding of the data they have on their services.

“They will need to know exactly what data they have, what it pertains to, why they have it and how long they intend to keep it for. If they can’t answer that, then they are out of compliance with the regulations that will hit in 2018 and face massive fines.”

Cannon continued: “Data only becomes valuable when you understand what it means and link categories to business objectives.”

Adaptive, a US tech company which has R&D operations in Dublin, was named a leader in the metadata management space by Gartner in its inaugural Magic Quadrant report on Metadata Management Solutions.

Adaptive’s technology is used and trusted in blue chip organisations to categorise and store data. It is seen as a vital pillar in the move to big data systems.

The company located its R&D offices in Ireland, Cannon said, because it was impressed with the tax environment for R&D as well as forward-thinking investments in centres like the Insight Centre for Data Analytics.

“Ireland is a great place to do research in the data analytics space and the people and research infrastructure are ideal for facilitating the growth of Adaptive.”

Cannon said that being named in the Gartner Magic Quadrant on Metadata Management is a big achievement for the company because it was measured against other industry players like IBM, Oracle, SAP and Informatica.

“It is quite incredible and it propels the company out there.”

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com