Data Responsibility Is Your Most Defensible Competitive Edge

Today, we’re taking a little detour from our usual topics. I want to talk about something a little less flashy, but no less important: data responsibility. I’m calling it responsibility, and not compliance, for a reason.

In our industry, it's common to treat data governance as a checklist:

• Are we compliant? Check.
• GDPR. Yup.
• Are the controls in place? Check.

But a checklist is just that: a checklist. I’m not arguing it’s not necessary (it definitely is, no need to panic, my fellow lawyers). What I want to focus on in today’s discussion is how those checklists turn into customer trust. We live in a world increasingly defined by data, and we should want to do more than list all of our compliance. That trust we’re building is strategic.

Think about the brands you rely on without hesitation. We trust McDonald’s to serve the same Big Mac anywhere in the world. We trust Coca-Cola to taste the same whether we’re in New York or Tokyo. And we trust Chase to protect our money and keep our financial lives secure.

That trust is a core component of the brands I listed above. Those companies promise consistency over time. And in the world of business communications, that kind of trust is earned through how we handle data.

With AI noisily flooding the internet with content, platforms fragmenting attention, and competitors always one click away, your core brand needs to be even more strongly defined. It’s both the logo and the reputation. Both product and a pattern of behavior.

So let me be clear: data responsibility is actually one of the most defensible competitive edges we can build.

So let me be clear: data responsibility is actually one of the most defensible competitive edges we can build.

Laurence Denny

CLO

Thinking about the products our teams have created, features such as the Customer Interaction Data Platform (CIDP) and JourneyIQ provide powerful insights into how customers move, what they need, and what outcomes they care about. That visibility is part of our platform advantage, but it also comes with real accountability.

That’s why we’ve made it a core design principle that sensitive data, including voice, chat, payments, transcripts, and context, stays within what we call the “ring of certainty.” That means within a secure perimeter of cloud infrastructure, encryption, and access control, where we can guarantee its protection, provenance, and appropriate use.

That’s why we’ve made it a core design principle that sensitive data, including voice, chat, payments, transcripts, and context, stays within what we call the “ring of certainty.” That means within a secure perimeter of cloud infrastructure, encryption, and access control, where we can guarantee its protection, provenance, and appropriate use.

We don’t let that data leak into third-party systems without purpose or oversight. We don’t hand it over to black-box models. We certainly don’t trade speed for security.

If it’s part of a customer’s experience, then it stays within our ring of certainty.

Yes, this includes regulatory compliance. Yes, it includes state-of-the-art security. But it goes beyond that. It includes intention.

We know that customers notice the difference between ticking the boxes and being truly intentional. Salesforce research shows 71% of people are more likely to trust a company that’s transparent about how it uses data.

When customers can trust that their data is safe, they share more of that data. And when they share more, businesses can help them better. That loop is built on brand trustworthiness, and it’s how you can turn customer data into customer (and business) success.

So whether you’re writing code, closing a deal, launching a feature, or drafting a privacy policy, pause to ask yourself:

“If I were the customer, would I feel safe and respected right now? How do I know that?”

That’s what it means to lead with trust. We can’t overlook the fact that data responsibility is actually a solid growth strategy.

Make it part of every conversation you have. Not just because the law makes it a requirement, but also because it means doing what’s right. Because it’s a promise you want your brand to keep.

Laurence Denny

CLO, 8x8

Laurence Denny is Chief Legal Officer at 8x8, overseeing the company’s global legal, privacy, compliance, and cybersecurity functions, along with a cross-functional global telecommunications group. He focuses on governance and risk decisions that help communications and customer experience leaders move fast without compromising trust. Larry has held senior legal roles at 8x8, Extreme Networks, and TiVo, and began his career at Gibson, Dunn and Morrison Foerster. He earned his J.D. from Columbia Law School.