Strengthening GDPR Compliance Through Third-Party Risk Management
Industry
SaaS – Data Analytics & Business Intelligence
Operations
Third-Party Vendors
The Challenge
A fast-scaling SaaS platform providing real-time analytics and data integration services, engaged over 30 third-party vendors across the EU to process Personally Identifiable Information (PII) of European users. These vendors included hosting providers, customer engagement platforms, and third-party analytics tools. During an internal audit, multiple gaps were identified in how vendors were processing data, ranging from inadequate documentation of Data Processing Agreements (DPAs) to unclear roles of processors vs. controllers and a lack of evidence of lawful data transfer mechanisms under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Key Issues
- Missing or outdated vendor DPAs and Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs)
- Limited visibility into subcontractors engaged by vendors (sub-processors)
- Non-aligned data retention and deletion policies
- Inconsistent breach notification timelines and procedures
- Lack of continuous monitoring of vendor compliance posture
ShieldRisk Implementation
The Solution
NexSoft adopted the ShieldRisk Third-Party Risk Management Platform to proactively identify, assess, and mitigate vendor-related GDPR compliance risks.
Automated Vendor Classification
Vendors were re-tiered based on criticality and PII processing footprint. EU-based processors were flagged as high-risk.
Continuous Monitoring
ShieldRisk integrated external threat feeds and vendor cyber rating APIs to detect emerging risks in real-time.
Document Centralization
All DPAs, SCCs, ISO certifications, and audit reports were uploaded to a centralized repository with expiry alerts.
Compliance Mapping & Gap Analysis
Vendor controls were mapped against Articles 28–36 of GDPR. Gaps in security, accountability, or transparency triggered remediation workflows.
GDPR-Specific Assessments
ShieldRisk deployed tailored GDPR questionnaires for vendors, including modules on legal basis, DPO assignment, consent mechanisms, and sub-processor transparency.
Breach Protocol Enforcement
A 72-hour breach notification compliance tracker was set up to align with Article 33 of the GDPR.
The Outcome
Within 90 days of implementation, NexSoft achieved:
- 100% documented DPAs for EU vendors
- 80% closure of GDPR control gaps across high-risk vendors
- Detailed reports for vendor performance and data handling issues
- Board-level reporting across high-risk vendorson third-party GDPR compliance posture
- Considerable risk reduction of compliance breaches
Conclusion
The implementation of ShieldRisk enabled the organization to transition from fragmented vendor oversight to a structured and scalable Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) framework.
This transformation ensured GDPR compliance, enhanced operational resilience, and provided greater transparency across cross-border data handling processes.
This proactive shift significantly reduced GDPR exposure and improved stakeholder confidence across business units and clients.