Expert Guidance for a Successful GDPR Journey

The right to privacy is an individual’s right to control their personal information and protect it from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. It ensures autonomy, dignity, and freedom from intrusion across digital, physical, and informational spaces.

GDPR is the EU’s data protection law that governs how organisations collect, use, store, and share personal data. Businesses must ensure lawful processing, obtain valid consent, protect data with strong security, honour individual rights, maintain transparency, report breaches promptly, and demonstrate compliance through documented policies, safeguards, and accountability measures.

Coral has advised clients on GDPR since the regulation’s inception in 2018, guiding organisations through a comprehensive consulting journey that strengthens privacy processes, avoids costly mistakes, and builds a mature, audit-ready compliance program aligned with regulatory expectations.

Questions and clarifications on GDPR scope, implementation or audit? Please get in touch with us for a no-obligation conversation.

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GDPR Consulting Engagement Phases

Here is a brief overview of all the phases involved in implementing GDPR compliance.

Phase I - Understanding Business, and Personal Data Processing

In this phase, we aim to understand and document the following:

Client's business model, customers, technology, and data processing requirements.
Whether they are controller and/or processor
The legal basis of data processing
Through this, we determine the applicable legal GDPR requirements

Phase II - Gap Analysis and Risk Assessment

In this phase, Coral GDPR consultants perform privacy impact assessment (PIA) and security risk assessment, covering the PII information lifecycle, business processes and Technology infrastructure.
In this phase, GDPR consultants identify gaps and provide detail recommendations to close those gaps.

Phase III - GDPR Implementation

The most comprehensive piece of GDPR implementation involves 'privacy by design'.
Privacy by Design involves keeping data subjects in mind while making any future data processing decision across the organization. Depending on the client environment, Coral GDPR Consultants advises the clients to make changes in their overall governance strategy to make these changes to reduce the exposure of privacy beach.
In this phase, Coral GDPR Implementation Consultants will draft and provide documentation for 15+ policies and procedures.
These documents and their impacts involve brainstorming with organization stakeholders to align them with GDPR legal controls and policies.
Risks identified in the gap analysis are discussed and tracked towards closure.

Phase IV - Training & Brainstorming Sessions

Training of staff involved in GDPR operations is a key factor in successful GDPR implementation.
Depending upon the audience, Coral consultants will deliver a combination of training that includes awareness, risk management and legal interpretation.

Phase V - Measurement of Controls including Internal Audit

Upon the completion of the implementation phase, Coral performs monthly tests of controls to ensure that designed controls are operating effectively.

These tests are conducted across all applicable GDPR requirements or policies that are implemented
A formal report is published for the management team for the overall program effectiveness, especially the newly developed and implemented security controls and practices.

Summary

At this stage:

As a result of undergoing the previous phases, Coral assists clients in a successful GDPR governance program that includes people, processes, technology and ongoing measurements.
Each of the GDPR requirements has been completed by a combination of one or more of policy, procedures, responsibilities, reports, records, technology, and automation.
At this stage, the client defined an annual plan of tasks using which they demonstrate their ongoing commitment
At this stage, with all areas of GDPR compliance being completed, the client can declare itself to be GDPR compliant.
GDPR is not a project but an ongoing governance program. Coral GDPR Compliance Consultants helps clients in designing and ensuring the program metrics are visible in future.

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GDPR Compliance FAQs

What is the GDPR?

GDPR is based on the fundamental right of a citizen, that is ‘right to privacy’.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a data protection and privacy law that was implemented by the European Union (EU) on May 25, 2018.
The GDPR replaced the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC and represents a significant update to data protection laws across all EU member states.
The GDPR applies to all EU member states and any organization that processes the personal data of EU residents, regardless of where the organization is located. This means that companies worldwide that handle the data of EU individuals are subject to GDPR compliance if the company processes EU resident data.
Who does this apply to?
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applies to two main categories of entities:
- Data Controllers: A data controller is an entity or organization that determines the purposes and means of processing personal data. In other words, they decide why and how personal data is processed. Data controllers can be businesses, government agencies, non-profit organizations, or any other entity that collects and processes personal data.
- Data Processors: A data processor is an entity that processes personal data on behalf of the data controller. They act under the authority of the data controller and handle personal data based on the controller's instructions. Data processors can be service providers, IT companies, cloud providers, and other entities that handle personal data on behalf of the data controller.
What is the scope under the GDPR?

The scope of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is extensive and covers a wide range of aspects related to the processing of personal data.

The GDPR applies to the processing of personal data in the context of the activities of establishments located in the European Union (EU), as well as to the processing of personal data of individuals located in the EU, regardless of where the data processing takes place.
What are the penalties for GDPR breaches?

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) imposes significant penalties for breaches of its provisions. The penalties for GDPR breaches can vary depending on the nature and severity of the violation. The GDPR has two tiers of administrative fines, depending on the specific infringements:

Lower Level Fines: For certain less severe violations, the GDPR allows for fines of up to €10 million or 2% of the global annual turnover of the preceding financial year, whichever is higher.

Upper Level Fines: For more severe infringements of the GDPR, the fines can be significantly higher. Organizations can be fined up to €20 million or 4% of the global annual turnover of the preceding financial year, whichever is higher.
What are the checklists for GDPR compliance?
Achieving GDPR compliance requires a comprehensive approach that addresses various aspects of data protection and privacy. While the specific requirements may vary depending on the nature and scope of the organization's data processing activities, here is a general checklist for GDPR compliance:
- Data Mapping and Inventory
- Data Subject Rights
- Consent Management
- Privacy Notices: Data Security and Protection
- Data Breach Management
- Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs)
- Vendor Management
- Data Transfer Mechanisms
- Staff Training and Awareness
- Accountability and Documentation
A complete GDPR compliance approach involves a comprehensive assessment of understanding business, purpose of data processing, determine applicable requirements, gap analysis, documentation of policies and procedures, nomination of dedicated roles such as DPO, and an ongoing privacy governance program.