Research project aims to reduce digitization hurdle for companies
Digital platforms and ecosystems are becoming increasingly popular. Many companies use them for their business, but are uncertain about the right way to handle data protection. The D'accord research project aims to remedy this situation and offer legally secure model solutions, especially for smaller companies.
More and more companies are shifting their business models to the Internet and using digital ecosystems as platforms. The COVID 19 pandemic has further strengthened this trend. However, data protection is perceived by many companies as a brake on innovation because there is a lack of knowledge and tools to implement the legal requirements correctly. "The fear of impending fines then leads to companies either not daring to take the step after all or developing their own solutions — solutions that cause extra work but are still often faulty," explains Marco Hess, Manag-ing Director of HK Business Solutions. "In D'accord, we therefore want to develop sample solutions that can be implemented with as little effort as possible and with which companies are on the safe side."
Data protection as an innovation factor in German companies
The main result of the D'accord research project is a so-called data protection cockpit. On the one hand, this software solution acts as a central point of contact for data subjects who want to find out how their personal data is used. On the other hand, data subjects can use the data protection cockpit to actively influence the use of their personal data and exercise their data subject rights. Empirically validated models, suitable concepts and technologies developed in the project will also enable smaller companies to present data privacy policies and data flows more transparently and to implement data subjects' rights in compliance with the law. Since the results will be published, companies that are not involved in D'accord can also benefit from the project.
The three-year project D'accord started in September 2021 and is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research in the area of networking and security of digital systems. The project consortium consists of HK Business Solutions, the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering IESE, Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, the Institute for Tech-nology and Work, and Saarland University.
More information on the D'accord research project at: http://www.daccord-projekt.de