Read this before building a consent management platform in-house
Posted: April 5, 2024
As rapidly as online privacy landscaping is evolving, compliance with regulations is keeping companies on their toes. There were times when organizations could rely on building a consent management platform in-house. Changing times, however, have developed a wide gap between what it requires to stay compliant and what features an in-house tool can afford to offer.
Building a consent management platform (CMP) can be daunting, taking complexities with both legal and technical aspects into consideration. Most often, organizations decide to go with an external provider despite having the resourcefulness to build their own CMP. Yet some companies find it tempting to build an in-house platform to meet their specific needs.
A third-party CMP can have comparatively greater advantages than an in-house one, which we will try to understand in this blog post.
Challenges in building your own CMP
Complexity of privacy regulations
There is no globally accepted data protection law. It varies with every jurisdiction. In the US alone, 13 states have their own exclusive privacy legislation, and many more states are in the works to enact their own data privacy laws. Each data protection law has its own unique requirements for businesses to follow: how consumer data can be collected, stored, managed, and shared. Conflicts in data privacy laws across jurisdictions create issues for businesses to maintain compliance. California’s opt-out consent vs. GDPR’s opt-in rule for certain types of data processing is one great example of conflict.
Evolving data protection regulations
Data protection laws, taking technological advancements and changing societal expectations regarding privacy rights into consideration, keep evolving. Businesses require a deep understanding of the nuances of each regulation to stay up-to-date on the evolving privacy landscape. In many cases, home-grown solutions fail to keep pace with the rapidly changing privacy regulations. New legislation targeting generative AI, for example, may likely pose more complexities in the near future.
Resource-intensive development process
While an in-house CMP may offer advantages like direct control and customization tailored to the organization’s specific needs, specialization in interpreting and implementing privacy laws offered by external CMP providers could be a game changer. External CMP providers often leverage specially designed, advanced technology and tools to prioritize real-time updates on regulatory changes, streamlining compliance processes. Such tools may not be readily available to in-house teams and can delay timely implementation.
Maintenance and updates
Staying compliant with data protection regulations is not a one-off task. Many organizations choose to build their in-house CMP but change their mind after realizing the efforts required for ongoing maintenance. An in-house CMP needs tight alignment and cooperation across the privacy and IT wings. This way, they can reflect immediate changes introduced in privacy laws into the organization’s tech stack. Many cases exemplify that most organizations find it difficult to allocate the time and resources to maintain compliance with an in-house solution.
Considerations before building a CMP
Assessing the specific needs of your organization
With every industry and regulation applicable, organizations’ needs for building their own CMP vary widely. For example, organizations dealing with sensitive financial data might require a CMP that offers adherence to strict regulations like PCI DSS, wherein providing granular consent options to users for sharing financial data becomes a must. Healthcare providers are subject to HIPAA. It requires a CMP with robust security measures that can manage patient consent for accessing and sharing healthcare information.
User-friendly interface and experience
CMPs with user-friendly interfaces (UI) and experiences (UX) integrate seamlessly into the user journey. It enables them to easily manage consent without interrupting their flow. Users find this transparency helpful in making informed decisions about their data. CMPs with clear language, intuitive design, and accessibility options (e.g., high contrast, alt text for images, screen reader compatibility, etc. for those with visual impairments) cater to users with varying technical abilities. It reflects the organization’s attention to solving genuine user problems and enhancing the user experience.
Scalability and adaptability for future changes
CMPs traditionally focused on managing consent for well-defined data types like website cookies, email addresses, contact information, etc. The evolving landscape of data types that include biometric data, sensor data, and behavioral data (like location tracking or app usage) can be complex and require sophisticated handling. A CMP designed to accept only the traditional data types might not store and manage these diverse data types efficiently. The emergence of new technologies like voice assistants, connected devices, and virtual reality may lead to the creation of new data streams. CMPs should adapt to handle these shifts in user behavior and consent preferences over time.
Benefits of using third-party CMP solutions
Time and cost-effectiveness
Building a consent management system from scratch can be time-consuming. Third-party CMPs provide ready-made solutions, eliminating the development and ongoing maintenance costs of a custom solution. As the need to handle consent data efficiently grows over time, third-party solutions do away with organizations’ constant scaling of their internal systems. Automation of consent collection and management enabled by CMPs bypasses many manual tasks, reducing the risks associated with human errors. Thereby, CMPs save time and money associated with fixing errors.
Expertise in compliance and updates
CMP providers house a dedicated team of legal and compliance experts who continuously keep watch on changes in the regulatory landscape. Access to expertise and ongoing support as a part of the service frees up internal resources as these experts keep CMPs fine-tuned to reflect the latest updates. Navigating data privacy regulations applicable across different regions can be challenging for multinational companies. CMP providers assist with implementation to configure the platform as such the jurisdiction- and industry-specific consent mechanisms are followed stringently.
Access to advanced features and functionalities
Beyond the core functionalities of consent collection and management, advanced CMPs can integrate with marketing, CRM, and analytics platforms to synchronize user consent preferences across systems. Advanced features like granular consent management allow users to share specific categories of data rather than a blanket yes or no agreement; dynamic consent banners adapt according to user behavior or location to provide them with more personalized and relevant consent requests. Data-driven insights offered by CMPs include detailed reports on user preferences, helping companies comprehend user behavior and identifying trends for making informed decisions.
Focus on your business objectives
CMPs can effectively automate consent-related tasks like collecting consent, managing preferences, and responding to data subject requests. It acts as a centralized hub for all consent data, eliminating the need for teams to manage consent across multiple platforms and spreadsheets. Third-party CMPs speed up the process of achieving compliance with data privacy regulations, which otherwise derails organizations from focusing on their core business activities when building and maintaining their own in-house CMP solutions.
So is it worth building in-house?
The challenges and benefits understood from the above reading clearly show that a third-party consent management platform outperforms an in-house in numerous ways. Just when organizations plan to have an in-house system built, considerations for continuous management, access to advanced features, and cost-effectiveness, among others, can’t be overlooked. By outsourcing consent management to an external provider, organizations can free themselves from the responsibilities of dealing with compliance hassles. Thus, they can focus on what matters most: their core business activities.
Meet Cassie
Get to know the fundamentals of the Cassie consent management platform with this downloadable guide.
Ideal for supporting conversations with key stakeholders, the guide covers…
- Cassie’s core features
- Who it’s for
- How it centralizes data
- What makes Cassie different
