Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 29 | Page 7

NEWS Mimecast commits to GDPR compliance for customers joined the leadership team as the company’s Chief Trust Officer and Data Protection Officer (DPO), driving the company’s efforts to support GDPR. Mimecast provides additional GDPR-related assurances in its contracts with impacted customers who have personal data of EU residents. The regulations impact African companies that deal with European data. The added controls that GDPR gives to individuals over how their personal data is used impacts organisations globally, as it imposes new obligations on companies and government agencies that market, track or handle the personal data of EU residents. Marc French, new Chief Trust Officer and Data Protection Officer (DPO), Mimecast M imecast Limited, a leading email and data security company which has a regional office in Dubai, has announced its commitment to helping customers comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a new European privacy regulation due to take effect on May 25 this year. As part of this commitment, Mimecast recently announced that Marc French has Organisations must have appropriate technology and processes in place to help secure the data and manage live and archived copies meticulously. Hefty penalties can be levied against those organisations that don’t comply. Mimecast is committed to GDPR compliance across its solutions and products when enforcement of the law comes into effect. Mimecast’s portfolio of robust, cloud-based, cyber-resilience services for email can help its customers with strategies for GDPR compliance. ///////////////// ICAEW says GCC deal flow unaffected by introduction of VAT Finance Faculty roundtable about the impact of VAT on deals in the GCC. ICAEW members and guests gathered in Dubai to discuss the impact the introduction of VAT has had on deals in the GCC. The event was held at the Capital Club in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). T he recent introduction of 5% Value Added Tax (VAT) in the KSA and UAE has not impacted deal flow in the GCC as the tax rate is relatively low compared to global markets. But many companies found themselves unprepared for the www.intelligentcio.com January 1 implementation date and are now scrambling to ensure they become tax compliant to avoid penalties. This was the consensus during accountancy and finance body ICAEW’s Corporate Michael Armstrong, FCA and ICAEW Regional Director for the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA), said: “We are living in a very exciting period. There is no doubt that VAT implementation will improve business conditions and create more stable economies over the long run.” Panellists applauded the UAE government’s efforts to provide guidance to make the VAT implementation process as easy as possible for all stakeholders. INTELLIGENTCIO 7