We have been shortlised for the PCR Awards 2018!

ATG-IT have started the new year on a high, having been nominated for 'MSP Specialist of the year' in the national PCR Awards 2018!  The event takes place on Wednesday 7th March 2018  at The Brewery in Central London.

For those that may not know PCR are a trade publication for the home and business computer sector.

Why GDPR is good for your business!

I have had many conversations about the negative implications of GDPR the “Stick”, but what about the positive implications the “Carrot”.

I felt after all the FUD that has been thrown around recently, it was time to extol the virtues of becoming compliant and the inherent benefits this brings.

The impact of GDPR for Creative Agencies

What do you Creative Agencies need to know for GDPR?
From the 25th May 2018 the General Data Protection Regulation will come into force across all the EU member states, currently 28 as follows:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK.

Clearly the UK will still be a member and therefore affected in the same way by this EU law that replaces the Data Protection Act which has been around for 20 years, but now the regulation comes with the full power of the EU courts making it a legal requirement for all companies to adhere to the regulations, or face some heavy fines up to €20 million or 4% of a company’s global annual income (whichever is the larger amount).

Even after the UK officially exists the EU the same legislation will largely apply on the basis that many companies are still trading or performing some function in Europe and therefore still liable based on this regulation, and this has been confirmed as extending out globally to any company in any country processing European citizen data.

GDPR The Whistle-blowers!

We have heard a lot of cynical views around GDPR, especially the comment “it will never happen to me”. Well, we thought it might be worth reminding you who might blow the whistle on you to the ICO.

EU Citizens – Any EU citizen that believes they have not given you permission or had notification is at liberty to do this.

GDPR Breakfast Briefing Event

On Thursday 2nd November 2017 we hosted our first 'GDPR Breakfast Briefing' event, inside our office in Bromsgrove. Our Breakfast briefings are simply a training and development event scheduled for the morning period.
"I'm more confident in what I need to do next"
GDPR if you don't already know stands for 'General Data Protection Regulation', which is going to supersede the current 'Data Protection Act 1998. GDPR been a regulation since May 2016 but will start to be enforced from the 25th May 2018.

The event was led by our consultant Steve McGowan, who has been studying the subject heavily since it's announcement.

Happy Halloween from ATG

Today we've been up to some mischief, each of our employees has donated £5 each to see Mark (the boss!) dress up in a costume of our choice! So you know we had to pick him out something good aha.

Youll be happy to know we've jam-packed his calendar today just so he can show off his lovely new get-up to the outside world! On top of Mark's new makeover, the lovely Kate Jones has baked us some terrifyingly delicious cakes.

20 GDPR Myth’s vs Facts

GDPR becomes enforceable from the 25th May 2018, that's a fact. However, after discussing the topic with both end users and channel partners we've received an interesting range of responses about the forthcoming legislation. So we thought based on the feedback received, it would be useful to share these Myth’s versus Fact’s as follows:
Myth 1: The regulators want to see you fail
Fact: One of the aims for breach notification laws such as GDPR is to push companies to step up their ability to detect breaches and to mitigate the negative impacts effectively.

10 GDPR questions? w/ Dr. Jacqui Taylor

Our 'Consulting Partner', Karl Fontanari had the opportunity of discussing the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), based on 10 questions, with Professor Jacqui Taylor, who is an acknowledged expert lead for the British Standards Institute (BSI).
1.Why do you think so few companies have started to prepare?
 JT - Number of factors such as this is regulation rather than legislation and is not aligned to a particular sector and therefore has no specific vertical relevance, such as Finance, Health, Etc.

ATG-IT continue to be ‘IASME’ and ‘Cyber Essentials Plus’ certified

Adhering to annual protocol we have re-assed our own security; and we are proud to announce that we continue to be IASME, Cyber Essentials and cyber essentials + certified. This achievement further demonstrates our commitment to cyber security, further reinforcing our commitment we have to our clients.

Will GDPR Kill Tape backup?

Are you still holding personal data on tape? You'll soon have to figure a way of removing or transferring this data to a more modern platform. In the event you are requested by a EU citizen to erase, transfer or give back their data. Under GDPR It'll be a legal right of the individual to ask these things.