Technology, as it stands today, acts as a catalyst for innovation and provides businesses with the means to expand their reach globally. Startups and SMBs now have the opportunity to compete in the global marketplace and easily develop a diverse clientele internationally with the help of the internet.

Managing logistics, like international freight and shipping, for example, has become far easier.

However, despite the increased feasibility of global expansion for businesses, there remain several critical considerations that must be taken into account. One of the most significant among these is the data protection and privacy concerns that arise in the context of international operations.

Businesses run the danger of breaking regional laws and regulations when they do not pay careful attention to data protection and privacy. Should hackers exploit vulnerabilities, organizations run the risk of experiencing operational disruption, as well as losing the trust and support of their clients.

Ensuring business and suppliers are compliant

As an initial step, it is essential to ensure compliance with various global data privacy laws and regulations, both for the business and its suppliers.

It is imperative to note that these laws and regulations are not limited to markets where the business has established operations, and comprehensive compliance measures must be taken into consideration.

The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), for instance, applies to any company that has an EU citizen as a customer, regardless of where they currently live.

Take a Lagos-based company that only sells goods in its own city, for example, and assume one of their local customers is an EU national.

The company has to be compliant with the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation 2019 (NDPR), which is a subsidiary legislation issued pursuant to the National Information Technology Development Act, 2007 (NITDA Act 2007), as well as the GDPR.

The consequences for anyone found to be in violation of data and privacy regulations are potentially severe.

A breach of the privacy rights of any data subject under NITDA Regulation with respect to data controllers dealing with more than 10,000 data subjects carry a fine of 2% of annual gross revenue of the preceding year or payment of ₦10 million, whichever is greater.

With respect to data controllers dealing with less than 10,000 data subjects, a fine of 1% of the annual gross revenue of the preceding year or payment of ₦2 million, whichever is greater, will be levied. GDPR offenses, meanwhile, carry fines of up to €20 million or 4% of the total global turnover for the preceding fiscal year, whichever is higher.

Privacy and security assessments should be included in due diligence processes for software vendors

To ensure optimal readiness for data protection, it is crucial to implement sound database management practices, employ robust cybersecurity measures, and provide ongoing education to employees on the importance of data protection and privacy in the workplace. These things need to happen on an ongoing basis with businesses adapting as new threats emerge.

An area of vulnerability that businesses frequently neglect is the software and productivity tools they utilize. It is essential that businesses select tools from companies that not only adhere to the relevant regulations but also place a high priority on data protection and privacy.

Aside from tools and offerings with robust privacy measures, vendors should present a business model that is not dependent on ad revenue and data monetization.

These proactive measures considerably reduce the chances of a data breach. With the average cost of a breach now at $4.35 million USD, that’s an investment worth making.

Data protection is a must for businesses, especially those with a global presence

Expanding a business globally demands an elevated sense of responsibility. Regardless of the size of the organization, it is crucial to recognize that similar challenges to those faced by large corporations, particularly with regards to data security and privacy, must be addressed.

Consequently, a concerted effort is necessary to provide the highest level of protection for customers. This necessitates partnering with software providers who possess a commitment to data security and privacy.

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Establishing itself as a central work hub or virtual headquarters, Zoho Workplace is a unified office platform that combines collaboration, productivity, and communications tools.

It is now a flexible, full-featured business mail and cloud office suite that is built on a common data model and unified through search and AI, enabling users to operate collaboratively and seamlessly through applications.

Commenting on the continued innovation, Kehinde Seun Ogundare, Country Head, Zoho Nigeria said: “In the past year, Zoho Workplace adoption has accelerated as businesses of all sizes transition to digital-forward, hybrid work. With a clear focus on continued innovation, Zoho is well-positioned to thrive during this time of readjustment. The goal of Zoho Workplace is to enable businesses to unify their work to a point where the line between apps disappears. It is heartening to see so many new businesses join the Zoho family, using Zoho Workplace as their customizable center of gravity.”

Zoho Workplace has grown 30% year-over-year with a rapidly expanding global user base of over 16 million, Workplace continues to revolutionize the way teams work together. Workplace is among the top five products in Nigeria where it has seen a growth of 106%. There has been an increase in the number of migrations to Zoho from notable tech companies such as Namecheap.

The predominant industries driving this trend are Finance, IT, FinTech, Retail, Non-IT Professional, Other Orgs and Services.

The growth is attributed to increasing business demand for simplified, streamlined solutions that maintain utmost standards for user privacy as well as rising costs from other collaboration platform providers. Additionally, migrations from Google, Microsoft and GoDaddy to Zoho Workplace almost doubled in 2022 globally.

Zoho continues to enhance its suite of workplace products with new features aimed at improving collaboration, productivity, and communication.

The company has introduced Zoho Trident, its first native desktop app that unifies mail, messages, audio/video calls, calendar, tasks, and more in one place. Furthermore, Zoho Voice is now fully integrated within Zoho Cliq and Zoho Meeting, allowing employees to make direct line calls, send SMS messages, and pick up inbound calls across the apps.

In addition, Zoho Webinar within Zoho Meeting enables businesses to broadcast to thousands of attendees, engage with them using polls and Q&As, and present virtually without sharing their screen. Zoho has also introduced BluePencil, an AI-based grammar tool with a text editor that can be used on any third-party webpage. Universal Drag and Drop functionality saves time by letting users move files between products with a simple drag and drop. With a focus on security, Zoho has added Mobile Device Management capabilities and OTP-restricted emails to its workplace suite. Lastly, TrueSync has been added to Zoho Workdrive, removing hard drive storage limits and allowing users to access and make changes to their files locally and in the cloud.

“The new Zoho Workplace announcements show a deep commitment to creating choice in the digital productivity sector with a broad integrated suite that continues to innovate,” said Dion Hinchcliffe, VP and Principal Analyst of Constellation Research, adding, “the improvements to unified communications, the addition of high performance native functionality, improved security, and the addition of new AI capabilities keep Zoho Workplace in the uppermost echelon of productivity suites in my analysis. Zoho Workplace with its newest applications Trident, Webinar within Zoho Meetings and Phone systems within Zoho Cliq and Zoho Meetings is helping users do their jobs more efficiently and effectively.”

Zoho Workplace Pricing:

Zoho Workplace is available in three editions: Standard is ₦780 per /user/ month billed annually. Professional is ₦1,560 per /user/month billed annually. Zoho Mail is ₦260 per /user/month billed annually.