Data protection? We've heard of it, say SMEs

Nearly all SMEs are aware of the Data Protection Act (DPA) and most of them are rather fond of it, according to a new research report from the Information Commissioner's Office.

Figures contained in the report show that 99 per cent of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have heard of the DPA and 77 per cent consider that data protection is important to their business.

The research, conducted by the University of Lincoln, found broad support for the principals of the Act with over 90 per cent saying privacy and confidentiality are important to their clients and business operations.

However, while awareness and warm feelings surrounding the Act was high, there wasn't the same enthusiasm for following the stipulations of the Act - just over 40 per cent had registered with the Information Commissioner's Office in regard to the DPA.

The report found that those SMEs that earned a gold star for DPA compliance were good at dealing with data in general.

"Effective practice in data protection was closely associated with wider information management and data control within the business - those enterprises that deployed information for business benefit tended to be actively supportive of data protection principles and found it easy to comply with the Act," it said.

One way to boost the compliance effort among the SME community could be a more caring and sharing approach, according to the report.

"Businesses that identified and recounted instances of good practice in data protection tended to work closely with and learn from other enterprises. There may, as such, be opportunity to encourage various forms of 'experience exchange' or 'peer learning' in order to raise awareness of, as well as improve practices in, data protection," it said.