When the Black Tiger Group acquired Bisnode Belgium on March 31, the Parisian software publisher knew that it was settling in a strong country of the European Union. What’s more, in the city that is home to many institutional headquarters: the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament and the European Council. This destination, more than any other, provides an environment conducive to the deployment of the ethical strategy in the use of personal data that Black Tiger has been advocating for over a decade.
A strong heritage
Long before the advent of the General Data Protection Regulation, there was Bisnode France. Bisnode Belgium’s sister company acquired in 2014, which began a long and prolific transformation into the publisher and expert in the exploitation of personal data that Black Tiger is today. The convictions around the need to respect the citizen in the use of their personal data have been the spearhead of the Black Tiger strategy since its genesis. Long before the EU Regulation 2016/679 or GDPR came into force, the French publisher’s products tended toward ethical and fair use of citizen/consumer data.
“Citizens have legitimate concerns about how their information is stored and processed by companies. We have been advocating Ethic Data since 2014 because it is now necessary for software publishers to become aware of the risks associated with the use of data and to take them into account. Technology must remain above all at the service of citizens. “Anne-Tania DESMETTRE – CEO Black Tiger at the announcement of the entry into force of the GDPR
The entry into force of the GDPR on May 25, 2018 marked the end of one era and necessarily, the beginning of another. It is above all the qualification of the very nature of personal data that has changed. Used until now without being considered as a raw material, it has been transformed into a high-risk material that can lead to substantial consequences, both, for the data controller, its subcontractors and naturally, the citizens. As a result, companies have had to face new issues. In particular, how to maintain their activities and their customer relationships, taking into consideration the new status of personal data and being aware of the possible impact on their customers.
To give companies and citizens the means to continue their relationship in a harmonious way and in accordance with the principles of the regulation, the answer had to be a technological one. A godsend for a software publisher for whom freedom of the citizens has always been at the heart of its strategy.
If ethics has not always been at the heart of concerns, it will now be necessary to make it an inseparable component of a company’s strategy and to approach the GDPR as an opportunity to regain proximity with citizens, but also as a real chance to differentiate oneself on a given market. Companies that can certify their GDPR compliance have competitive advantage over a player who is not, and even today, few are truly compliant.
From thought to technology
With the support of the law firm specializing in digital law and advanced technologies, Lexing Alain Bensoussan and a consultation with the French Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés (CNIL), Black Tiger asked itself a simple question “how to implement the 99 articles of law of the GDPR in a technological platform? “. Where many market players have adopted an exclusively legal response, Black Tiger, as a technologist, has been able to place the information system as the centerpiece of compliance. To achieve this, the software editor has developed a technical method called “GDPR as Code” that guarantees full compliance with the regulation by focusing on the fundamental principles and rights set out in the law and in particular on the management of risks to the privacy of data subjects. Currently, Black Tiger offers its clients the possibility of measuring and anticipating risks regarding the use of personal data through a complete GDPR compliance method directly embedded in an operational solution. This performance reflects the company’s vision, which is built around three inseparable values: ethics, transparency and innovation.
A promising future
The acquisition of Bisnode Belgium, the current leader in data driven marketing and customer data quality in the Belgian market, will allow Black Tiger to establish itself directly in the land of Paul-Henri Spaak with the objective of becoming a European leader in personal data expertise with a high level of ethics in its use and GDPR compliance. It is with this aspiration that Bisnode Belgium will begin its transformation to Black Tiger Belgium and will benefit from the latest technological developments and GDPR expertise specific to Black Tiger. In this sense, the company, which now calls itself European, hopes to be able to quickly offer its Belgian partners the same ethical and compliance standards that have always been the law within the company and thus continue to serve the best interests of Belgian and European citizens.
“I am very pleased to welcome Bisnode Belgium to the Black Tiger family, convinced that the union of our strengths and expertise will be a great step forward in the growth of both companies. We have a very clear vision on personal data and the major role of the GDPR and will be able to accelerate the development of our platform and our service offering. Our customers will be able to rely on us in this new data era. “Anne-Tania DESMETTRE – CEO Black Tiger at the announcement of the acquisition of Bisnode Belgium
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