The POPI act is an incredibly complex and multilayered set of regulations that ensure that all the information a person hands over to another party is handled with care and not used for malicious purposes. The punishment for not adhering to the Act isn’t simply a slap on the wrist, but could, in the worst-case scenario, result in imprisonment of between 10 to 12 years. Here are some of the core elements of POPI compliance: - Collecting and storage of data needed for a specific business function; - Restricted access to stored personal data; - The personal information on hand should be of the best quality; - The subject should be able to see their data upon request.

The management of data is a time-consuming and costly task, especially for small businesses with restricted budgets. While for many large corporations that handle an abundance of personal data, such as banks and financial institutions, storing and managing data onsite is the most viable solution. They can afford the physical hardware and the resources and manpower to maintain the information networks, therefore making it much easier to keep up with new regulations. However, the picture looks completely different for smaller businesses with limited budgets and resources to manage their data. The POPI Act will see many businesses, that don’t have proper measures in place to secure data, slapped with heavy fines, and possibly an even more severe punishment. For those in charge of managing data, this drastically increases the pressure to explore any and all avenues to ensure POPI compliance.