GDPR: have you taken a look at this?
Embedded analytics involves plugging complex data (usually in the form of dashboards and reports) into software. Embedded analytics is one of the smart use cases of business intelligence (BI).
It improves the usability of data and helps organizations make better-informed decisions based on the insights they have received from data analysis.
While embedded analytics has several benefits, most times, it requires transactions with third-party software vendors. It is often used in a B2B context. The problem with this is that most of the data that require embedded analytics have some privacy rules. Therefore, integrating a third party can be a potential breach of the security policies governing the data being embedded.
In this article, we will consider GDPR and privacy laws and how they affect embedded analytics.
Benefits of Embedded Analytics
The reason why embedded analytics is a very popular part of business intelligence is its relevance.
Embedded analytics is mutually beneficial. It helps end users gather relevant data insights without requiring the help of experts. With this approach, users can easily explore, uncover, and make better decisions using insights from data.
In the same way, this approach is also beneficial to the service providers because it serves as a link between businesses. By offering their solutions to businesses, software vendors can stay relevant.
Use Cases of Embedded Analytics
Embedded analytics finds relevance in several industries. Businesses of different sizes have been able to employ the technologies of embedded analytics in their software.
Some of the popular industries where you will most likely find embedded analytics in use include;
- Banking industry
- Education industry
- Healthcare industry
- Insurance industry
- Telecommunications industry
- Security Industry
- SaaS industry
Here are some of the key benefits of embedded analytics;
- It enhances data-driven culture.
- It improves decision-making.
- It gives users real-time contextual analysis of their workflow.
- It boosts productivity and improves business performance.
- It increases revenue by increasing customer satisfaction rate.
Challenges of Embedded Analytics
Two common challenges accompany embedded analytics.
Compliance and Privacy
Most information on embedded analytical data is private. Some rules prevent the information from being seen by unauthorized personnel. Embedded analytics gives way to third-party users, and these users might be able to gain access to information that should be private.
Data Management
When data is centrally stored, it needs to be managed properly to give users easy accessibility to the data when needed. When users need to retrieve information urgently, they need to get the information that is most relevant to the context. To achieve this, data sets need to be managed closely. This is difficult to achieve with the large set of data that these software are
What is GDPR?
GDPR is short for General Data Protection Regulation. It was drafted by the EU and put into effect in 2018. This law is one of the strongest security and private laws in the world, and it obligates organizations from several parts of the world as long as they collect data related to people in the EU.
In times like this, when people are more open to entrusting their personal data to the internet and other cloud-based services, the regulation has a firm stance on data privacy. If violated, there are severe fines attached, sometimes running into tens of millions. In addition, a violation like this can leave an eternal negative mark on the defaulting organization.
GDPR and Data privacy laws are adhered to in every industry. Special preference is given to industries that collect the personal data of the public. This is how GDPR links to embedded analytics.
GDPR vs. Embedded Analytics
Because of the sensitivity of Embedded Analytics, most software vendors need to consider the privacy policies in place when dealing with data from an organization.
Embedded analytics usually require the personal data of users. For users to successfully create dashboards and reports on external software, they need to input the private details of their customers. For instance, a health organization that needs to do embedded analytics on a PHI and HIPPA document will need to release all the personal data of their patients on this software.
Now, while this data is relevant for making decisions and facilitating the entire process of embedded analytics, on the other hand, it could be disastrous if the information gets into the wrong hands.
There are a couple of GDPR-compliant laws that specifically address embedded analytics. Some of these laws include:
- Under the GDPR, you must obtain explicit content from users before cross-linking their data with tools.
- To have access to GDPR files, you need to have a contractual agreement in place.
- Family educational rights and Privacy Acts (FERPA) law protects the privacy of students’ academic records.
- Personal data should be processed in a manner that is of utmost security, including protection against unauthorized or unlawful processing.
- In the case of a data breach, especially one that is likely to result in high risks for the person involved, the controller should communicate the breach to the data owner without delay.
- The customer reserves the right to erasure. Upon request, businesses are mandated to erase a person’s data when certain circumstances occur.
All of these rules are effective and attract fines when defaulted.
Therefore, software vendors need to ensure that the information they get on their platform is kept safe. They risk facing huge penalties if they fail to do this.
The Challenge and A Viable Solution for GDPR
A major challenge with this rule is that it is very difficult to keep information restricted when it is going out on cloud-based software. Most software that allow embedded analytics are hosted on the cloud. So, even if they manage to implement high-level data security in their environment, the cloud might be beyond their control
One key solution to this is using a self-hosted software service. Self-hosted services have no access to private data. This gives the end users more control over the data and ensures that privacy remains unbreached.
How Yurbi Can Help with GDPR and Embedded Analytics
In an era where data privacy regulations like GDPR are becoming increasingly stringent, tools like Yurbi emerge as the definitive solution to address these challenges.
By being a self-hosted platform, Yurbi eliminates any need for external third-party vendors potentially getting access to your critical data. Its multi-tenant/data-level security ensures that your data stays confined to those who have necessary permissions, reinforcing the sovereignty of your data.
One of Yurbi's key features is its dynamic datasource connections for single database models. This enables you to manage a common set of reports and dashboards but pull the data from customer-specific data sources.
Furthermore, the Yurbi App/Semantic Layer grants you control over what fields are exposed. This functionality makes it possible to generate high-level reports without risking exposure of detailed information, such as PHI.
Equally valuable is Yurbi's characteristic of querying data directly from your protected source of truth instead of copying it into a new data store. All these features are meticulously designed to foster a conducive environment for businesses to thrive, without compromising data privacy.
What makes Yurbi an even more attractive solution is its reasonable pricing model. It ensures that businesses of all sizes can leverage its extensive features without putting a strain on their budgets.
Data privacy and GDPR compliance need not be obstacles stifling your business growth. Explore the extensive range of features Yurbi has to offer.
We invite you to book a meeting with our team or experience the platform's capabilities firsthand through our free live demo sessions. Delve into the world of Yurbi and discover how it can propel your business while ensuring robust data privacy and compliance.