On January 28, the 15th edition of Data Protection Day is celebrated. This day aims to make civil society aware of the rights related to the protection of personal data and privacy.

Data Protection Day marks the day of signing Convention 108 – the first international legal instrument on the protection of personal data – celebrated on January 28, 1981.

The importance of data privacy

We are all aware that data is becoming extremely important for the economy and for our daily lives, existing more and more in abundance and with potential uses that many of us probably do not even imagine. Although this reality offers incredible opportunities, it is necessary to provide robust rules to deal with potential risks for individuals, for companies and for democracies in general.

At Contisystems, the reality and concern of dealing with personal data has been going on for many years and this has always been reflected in technical and organizational security measures that are being created and adapted to the risk of each situation.

The appearance of the GDPR

In 1998, Law 67/98 – Law on the protection of personal data – was published, which already referred to obligations similar to the GDPR.

Although the GDPR came into force in May 2016, its legal application only started two years later, in May 2018, allowing companies time to prepare. And it was only in 2019 that the first law on the protection of personal data (Law 67/98) was repealed, through Law 58/2019, of 09/08/2019, which transposes the GDPR into national law.

The big change in terms of data protection imposed by the GDPR was the fines values regime, that may now represent very large amounts. This was the main boost that led companies to start looking at data protection as a financial risk that they should insure and control.

Also, the appearance of the position “DPO – Data Protection Officer” changed the paradigm of organizations, imposing the existence of a position with direct reporting to the highest level of the organization of all issues related to the protection of personal data.

In June 2019, Contisystems took another step in its path of information security management with ISO 27001 certification, which reflects the recognition of the work done so far in protecting our customers’ data.

Ensure data protection and prevention actions

Twenty months after the entry into force of the General Data Protection Regulation, we see that this regulation has acted as a catalyst to put data protection at the center of the debate in the most varied sectors.

With this path and already some years of practice in data management, we invest in technical and organizational measures that we consider most critical to ensure its protection and prevent its violation. We can’t resist sharing some examples:

• Raising awareness and training staff in information security and data protection;
• Technical solutions for Data Loss Protection, multi-factor authentication, monitoring platforms, incident management applications, among others;
• Data protection by design and by default, undergoing prior impact assessments that make it possible to apply protection principles effectively and include the necessary guarantees in the treatment. Thus, we simultaneously protect our legal compliance and the rights of data subjects.

We have always worked diligently to protect our data and the one our customers trust us with. Data Protection Day is always marked here to keep in mind the importance of this theme in everyone’s daily life.

06/25/2019 is the date that will go down in history as the day we got the certification of our information security management system.

This system is implemented in accordance with the requirements of ISO / IEC 27001: 2013 – Information security management systems and covers all our solutions and services in the customer communication management platform – CCM:

“Contisystems scope for information security management system, as a strategic outsourcer for customer communication management of document composition, production, personalization, multichannel distribution and digital archiving, in accordance with SoA version 21-06-2019. Exclusions: A14.1.2”

After a demanding external audit process conducted by the SGS Certification Organization, we obtained certification that basically mirrors the public recognition of the system in which we have already placed our full trust.

The success of this audit and our excitement about it were magnified with the fact that no nonconformities were detected – 0 non-conformities – which attests the commitment, professionalism and delivery capacity of the project team, something that was even highlighted by the audit team in audit report:

• • “System (…) quite capable of reacting to all adversities”

• • “Young and highly motivated team in the system”

Achieving the certification of the information security management system is to achieve an important strategic milestone, since it is absolutely core for our business to guarantee the Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability and Resilience of our information assets, including those that our clients entrust to us.

An information security management system that complies with the requirements of ISO / IEC 27001: 2013 is recognized as a highly demanding system for obtaining and maintaining it, as it involves compliance with a wide range of processes, policies, procedures and a set of technical and organizational measures that are the result of high investment.

The information security management system implemented is not, however, restricted to CCM solutions and services, since it includes several policies and practices that are implemented in across our different areas, thus allowing us to assure unique levels of security and trust in all our business divisions.

Augmented Reality (AR) promises to revolutionize how we interact with brands and their services. Learn more about Augmented Reality in companies of the Banking sector.

But what is Augmented Reality?

AR is an interactive experience of a virtual environment in the real world of the user, in which objects residing in the real world are “augmented” by computer generated information.

These “illusions” look so real and take on an immersive aspect of the real environment in the physical world, in which the user can participate in or perform tasks as he or she would do in the real world.

It is in this way that augmented reality alters the current perception of an environment or real-world scenario.

The AR race has begun

Large companies, drive AR technology. There have been many comments and news reports recently about the news that Apple is working on AR technology, integrating it into its next products.

Also, Google is in the AR race integrating it into its famous Google Maps app.

Revisiting the year 2016, AR had never been so commented or even experienced by so many people and so intensely before. Let’s talk about the mobile platform game, Pokémon Go. For the most inattentive, the quick adherence to AR was notorious with the introduction of this technology in the game Pokémon Go, registering more than 25 million active users.

Pokémon Go has become a huge national and international phenomenon almost overnight. Children, young people and even seniors were prime time news targets in the news reports broadcasted in both national as well as international channels.

More recently, for example, at the 2019 Mobile World Congress event, Microsoft introduced the HoloLens 2 project. This is the second version of HoloLens 1, launched in 2016. The big difference is that this new model can be integrated with Azure and Dynamics 365. In addition to this integration between Microsoft platforms, which will leverage technology, Hololens 2 allows for better interaction with objects, as the user will be able to experience the sensation of touching holographic items and perform various operations on them, such as resizing, moving, rotating , among other options.

The increasing valorization of Augmented Reality

According to the website SuperData Research of the company Nielsen Company in 2020, the virtual reality market and AR will be worth 8 times more than what it was worth in 2016. 14.5 billion dollars to be precise. This year, the emerging market will grow to $7.7 billion, driven largely by hardware as well as with a gradual growth in software.

Applications of Augmented Reality in companies

Industry, manufacturing and architecture:

Companies use AR to visualize what they will build and manufacture by enabling a prototype with a high level of product knowledge and detail right from the start of the process. AR in these projects facilitates decision-making and error correction in the early stages of the process. In this way the AR leads to a great reduction in cost as well as of time.

Retail:

AR will have a high impact on the future of retail by allowing companies to understand the behavior of consumers and how they buy products in their different variables. It will also have a high impact on the activation of product sales, as customers can simulate the use of products before purchasing these.

Ecommerce and Experimental Marketing:

There are consumers who still prefer the actual experience of buying in person. For these consumers, there is a challenge for large online sales companies to offer a more “real” buying experience in AR scenarios.

Remote Industrial Maintenance:

The integration capability offered by VR/AR technology will enable an increase in the volume and management opportunity, manipulation and remote action in the control of drones, work carried out in high-risk or limited-access environments as well as maintenance of machinery.

And the application of Augmented Reality in companies of the Banking sector?

It is well known that the banking sector is increasingly adopting technology to make its services more convenient for its customers. Mobile banking, internet banking, mobile payments are some of the various technologies already in use in the banking sector.

If banks take advantage of AR to make everyday banking more efficient, there are almost endless applications. For example, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) launched an AR home finder application in 2011. It is an application to buy and sell homes, in which the user of the mobile device can click on the house to obtain more information, if desired, and immediately check the information on his or her mobile phone screen to purchase the identified property by using AR.

 In emerging markets, the Federal Bank of India offers an AR calendar that provides relevant messages when viewed on a smartphone. The National Bank of Oman is using AR to help customers locate ATM branches and ATMs.

Potential impact of AR on bank customers

Augmented reality is no longer science fiction! As with any other innovation, there are advantages to and challenges in the implementation and use of AR in the banking sector. Banks need to adapt their technology resources, business processes and their operations to adapt AR as well as put its potential to good use. But, as always, it will be worth the effort, as the potential uses of AR in the banking sector can be infinite.

Now imagine …

As a client of a bank, imagine getting a bank card in your home and being able to point your mobile phone at the card to see the general conditions, loyalty campaigns for that card, balances and movements of that card, as well as being able to ask the bank to contact you, among many more possibilities, all by using AR.

Augmented Reality and Innovation have no limits!

In June 2018 Contisystems became a member of the EFQM – European Foundation for Quality Management. By doing this, Contisystems now belongs to a very restricted group of 10 members in Portugal, which systematically work to achieve excellence in all its management practices.

EFQM acts as a partners’ network representing diverse entities both from public and private sector across Europe. These entities share the goal of improving and ensuring their sustainable development through the implementation of the EFQM Excellence Model. Through the implementation of this model in more than 30,000 organizations throughout Europe, over its 20 years of existence, EFQM contributes to the implementation of a culture of excellence, good management practices, innovation and therefore to organizational performance improvement.

The EFQM Excellence Model is based on a set of European values, which were first expressed in the European Convention on Human Rights (1953) and the European Social Charter (revised 1996). This treaty has been ratified by the 47 Member States of the Council of Europe and its principles are incorporated into national legislation. This model is based on nine criteria, which are grouped into two areas: “Means” and “Results”. The “Means” criteria cover everything a company does and how it does it. The “Results” criteria cover what a company achieves. Please see below the diagram of the Excellence Model.

Outstanding organizations reach and maintain remarkable levels of performance that meet and exceed the expectations of all their stakeholders. Through the establishment of this partnership with EFQM, Contisystems intends to create the necessary bases for the implementation of EFQM’s Excellence Model in the Company.