Find out how our Privacy, InfoSec and Compliance solutions can help you boost trust, reduce risks and drive revenue.
100% success in ISO 27001 audits to date
40% total cost of ownership (TCO) reduction
A scalable easy-to-use web-based platform
Actionable business advice from in-house experts
Trusted by customers
Get an offer
Simplify compliance
External data protection officer
Audit of your privacy status-quo
Ongoing GDPR support from a industry experts
Automate repetitive privacy tasks
Priority support during breaches and emergencies
Get a defensible GDPR position - fast!
Trusted by customers
Get an offer
Simplify compliance
Continuous support on your journey towards the certifications on ISO 27001 and TISAX®️, as well as NIS2 Compliance.
Benefit from 1:1 consulting
Set up an easy-to-use ISMS with our Info-Sec platform
Automatically generate mandatory policies
100% success in ISO 27001 audits to date
TISAX® is a registered trademark of the ENX Association. DataGuard is not affiliated with the ENX Association. We provide consultation and support for the assessment on TISAX® only. The ENX Association does not take any responsibility for any content shown on DataGuard's website.
Trusted by customers
Get an offer
Simplify compliance
Transparent consent collection
Comply with GDPR, CCPA, LGPD, ePrivacy, and more
Consolidate consents across multiple touchpoints
Support from privacy experts
Integrates with your marketing tools and CRM
Trusted by customers
Get an offer
Simplify compliance
Proactive support
Create essential documents and policies
Staff compliance training
Advice from industry experts
Trusted by customers
Get an offer
Simplify compliance
Comply with the EU Whistleblowing Directive
Centralised digital whistleblowing system
Fast implementation
Guidance from compliance experts
Transparent reporting
Trusted by customers
Learn more about our prices & services
Torsten Wolf, Managing Director, brands4friends
How brands4friends stays secure and privacy compliant
“E-commerce is all about people. We do more than just store personal data: we monetize it. This makes it critical for us to stay on the safe side of data protection law. DataGuard helps us do exactly that.”
Privacy challenges when sending newsletters to over 3 million users
No framework to train employees about data privacy
No experts at hand for ad-hoc compliance queries
WITH DATAGUARD
All newsletters and marketing activities are privacy compliant
Total overview of which staff members have completed training
All questions can be answered quickly by DataGuard’s experts
There is no e-commerce without personal data
Since taking effect in May 2018, the GDPR has reinforced the importance of data privacy for online marketplaces. And for e-commerce businesses, this represents an interesting challenge. Personal data forms the foundation of this business model: from marketing to order processing. A selection of figures from brands4friends demonstrates this: “We send out our newsletter to over one million users - daily. Add to this over 200,000 push notifications and additional marketing measures that we use to inform our members about current offers”, explains Torsten Wolf, CMO of brands4friends.
Large-scale online marketing can increase risks
brands4friends has around 3 million registered users. The company stores and uses the personal data of each and every user. As such, the company faces the constant scrutiny of data protection authorities and the public. “We are a well-known brand, but this in turn puts us in a highly exposed position due to our extensive online marketing processes”, explains Andreas Grimm, CHRO at brands4friends, “For us, it is crucial to get everything right and stay on the safe side when it comes to the protection of our customers’ data.” The company also faces above-average liability risks: as part of the Regent Group, which includes German fashion brand Escada, the revenue of the entire group would be impacted if calculating fines for a privacy breach.
Searching for a holistic data privacy solution
When brands4friends was sold to the Regent Group in 2019, the GDPR had been in effect for about a year. The regulation specifies clear data protection requirements. To meet these, the company had to appoint a data protection officer (DPO). An internal staff member was out of the question, because the DPO cannot be anyone with managerial responsibility, nor anyone who presents a conflict of interest. As a result, brands4friends started looking for a partner who offer a holistic data privacy solution who could support the company as an external data protection officer. They also favored companies who leverage technology to make privacy management more efficient: solutions that could bundle their documentation and provide templates and online training courses.
“We wanted to clearly see the number of employees who have or haven’t already completed their annual data privacy training at any time”, says Grimm. “We decided a technical solution would be perfect for us, as it provides a full overview of our current data privacy status.”
DataGuard’s compelling ‘all-in-one' package
During the evaluation phase, stakeholders at brands4friends met with several service providers, querying key performance metrics and comparing different offerings. “DataGuard’s privacy experts answered every question we had quickly and competently. They personally convinced us, and compared to other providers, offered the best overall package in terms of scope and transparency”, confirms Grimm.
Spreading awareness and building in-house privacy expertise
As mentioned previously, online training courses for the brands4friend’s 150 employees was a major requirement. Courses are now offered to all employees in a flexible and efficient way, with seamless documentation, via the DataGuard platform. “Training our team was critical for us”, explains Wolf, “because awareness about the importance of data privacy amongst all team members, together with an understanding of key issues in the handling of personal data, is vital for systematically preventing errors and GDPR infringements.”
DataGuard Academy is optimised to provide exactly that. Employees can find comprehensive training courses together with up-to-date information and a downloadable whitepaper. “Demand is high: our team love using the platform without us having to instruct them to do so”, confirms Grimm. “We can also attribute that to the fact that we are a very digitally minded company, with prior experience using similar platforms.”
Staying compliant is the most honest approach brands can take
Within the team of brands4friends, DataGuard has boosted awareness for data privacy matters and brought expertise on GDPR-compliant processes for e-commerce: “Today, we can make sound decisions on data privacy compliant processes and realize our marketing efforts with the assurance that legal requirements are continuously met. This gives us a real sense of security”, confirms Wolf.
The bonus? Whenever brands4friends has any questions or doubts, they no longer have to search for an answer themselves or seek help from external experts. DataGuard is their single point of contact for any privacy-related query. “Whenever we have questions about data privacy, we reach out to our external data protection officer. DataGuard responds quickly and competently and gives us clear recommendations for action that we can implement right away. That’s great”, says Grimm. What’s more, the teams can regularly exchange ideas and insights, keeping each other up to date and continuously improving processes in terms of privacy compliance.
Facts about brands4friends
brands4friends is Germany’s leading fashion and lifestyle online shopping club. The platform has several million members who enjoy a vast selection of products from renowned fashion and lifestyle brands. The e-commerce startup, founded in 2007 and acquired by eBay in 2010, operated under the umbrella of the leading online marketplace operator until 2019. Today, brands4friends is owned by US private equity firm Regent.
OFFER
Products from over 1,500 global fashion and lifestyle brands
We help your compliance run like clockwork with pragmatic, needs-based advice.
Get an offer
More Customer Success Stories
Don't just take our word for it
“Getting ISO 27001 certified was a critical step to demonstrate our commitment to the market that we manage data in the most efficient and secure way.”
“Working with consulting firms could have taken 50-80% more time to setup an ISMS. With DataGuard, we felt cared for and supported, even in challenging times.”
“Trying to find the right solution was a complete minefield. There was no understanding or empathy. We are dealing with sensitive data and needed extra help. Nobody took the time to really understand...
“Caring about data privacy is just common courtesy. It shows that you care just as much about your customers themselves as you do about them spending money with your company. If we only cared about...
“E-commerce is all about people. We do more than just store personal data: we monetize it. This makes it critical for us to stay on the safe side of data protection law. DataGuard helps us do exactly...
“DataGuard's team of privacy experts is what makes the difference. They don't just tell us "do it like this", they also explain why it should be done in a specific way – which helps broaden my team's...
“Parconomy’s solution is aimed primarily at parking garage operators and mobility providers – both municipal and commercial. Data privacy is a top priority for these target groups – and that's a good...
"Strong data protection practices are a great argument in favour of a company. People really care about this. And if customers care about it, then businesses need to care about it, too. With the help...
"The requirements with regard to data privacy and information security recently increased massively with our automotive customers, similarly to our industrial customers from other industries."
"With DataGuard, there’s a certain amount of hours included in our package. It covers the amount of questions that I have and gives me peace of mind that I won’t get a huge invoice at the end of the...
“We were introduced to DataGuard and they were able to provide us with the perfect solution at the time we needed it. DataGuard gives us peace of mind and helps us sleep well at night. If you want to...
“We chose a professional solution that covers a spectrum which an individual internal data protection officer cannot provide – neither in terms of expertise nor in terms of time."
“As a non-profit, we often work with so much personal data – names, email addresses, phone numbers, and more. We have to be on the safe side when it comes to privacy.”
“DataGuard allows us to automate responses which saves time and money. And if we ever have a question, they have a team of experts standing by to help. It is like having a pain reliever."
“Previously, all data privacy queries ended up on my desk. Now, the platform is the linchpin. Colleagues can find all their necessary to-dos, templates, documentation, and training courses easily and...
Our web-based platform was developed to be used by anyone, even privacy novices. Work on compliance at your own pace, with the support of our experts always just a click away.