Gartner Says We Are a Cool Vendor in Privacy Management!

We claim to be a lot of things, but we would never claim to be cool. Like all truly cool things, that should be left to the rest of the world to judge……. and they just did. Gartner just named WireWheel a Cool Vendor in their April 2019 Cool Vendors in Privacy Management report!! And, while it may not recognize us as being cool in the ‘hip and trendy’ sense of the word, Gartner thinks the vendors in this report are cool because of their innovative approach “to boost privacy management program maturity, enhance insights into data-processing activities and detail regulatory compliance, and streamline personal data usage by parameterization of “what is allowed”. Coming on the back of WireWheel’s nomination as a top ten finalist at this year’s RSA Innovation Sandbox Awards (Watch the 3-min video), we couldn’t be more proud.

I want to highlight and comment on a few things that Gartner raises in the report about the privacy management space in general:

Gartner Prediction:

“By 2021, more than 60% of large organizations will have a privacy management program fully integrated into the business.”

This is reassuring to see; we didn’t know the actual number, but this aligns with what we are seeing in the market – more and more companies treating privacy as a first-class citizen. Not just as a stand-alone compliance function, but as a way of orchestrating the activities of the entire organization around ‘doing the right thing’ with personal data. To do that, it must be integrated across the business.

Gartner Observation:

“By treating privacy as more than a compliance issue, maturing organizations are able to position and use privacy as a business opportunity.”

We couldn’t agree more. There is a growing population of consumers and employees who only want to do business with companies they trust. That makes privacy management a strategic and competitive differentiator not just a risk mitigation tool. Many of our customers have growing Data Ethics teams, not just compliance functions – data ethics raises privacy management to a higher level of ‘doing the right thing’ not just doing what the law(s) say(s).

Gartner Recommendation:

“Increase customer trust by creating a smooth and direct privacy user experience by prioritizing automation and self-service capabilities over manual processes and reducing manual workforce pressure.”

Yes, yes and yes! We are investing heavily in not just allowing our customers to understand, improve and communicate their privacy policies better, but to actively engage their customers and employees in intuitive processes that automate the communication of what their own data is being used for and automate the execution of their preferences and consents i.e. what should be done with that data.

WireWheel was described as being a ‘Privacy API’ for the organization, allowing data to be surfaced from disparate systems, processes and functions into a common privacy context. This allows us to engage with CISOs who have an active role to play in ensuring underlying systems are handling personal data correctly, in addition to the privacy office that is managing the core programs.

All of that being said, we all agree that there are challenges ahead in this market. This is something that we at WireWheel never shy away from. For those of you that have been in sales meetings with the team, you will always hear us say that “we haven’t figured it all out yet”. Our philosophy is one of partnering and rapid evolution, so that we get it right for them and we evolve as the market, best practice and regulations mature.

Disclaimer

Gartner, Cool Vendors in Privacy Management, Bart Willemsen et al., April 19, 2019

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in our research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

The GARTNER COOL VENDOR badge is a trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc., and/or its affiliates, and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s Research & Advisory organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.