Seminars tell you how to comply with POPI

It is with this that Innovatec Africa in association with franciscronje.com is providing customers the opportunity to attend a series of practical seminars to help them better understand the ins and outs of POPI.

Tapping into the collective expertise of Innovatec's training and the legal prudence of information governance specialist Francis Cronjé, the seminars will offer attendees a greater understanding of the statutory requirements for the processing of personal information, a view of who it applies to, what non-compliance will mean, and an understanding of the tools needed to comply.

"POPI is fast tracking the inevitable. Companies need to protect and manage the personal records and information they process better. Not only does this pertain to the personal information of their customers and clients, but it also concerns the personal information of every employee in their service. In today's information age POPI can be seen as a starting point for businesses and professionals who want to take stock of how they handle, and subsequently govern, this valuable business asset," stated Francis Cronjé, MD of franciscronje.com. "Through these seminars we will communicate the key aspects of POPI and aim to provide attendees with a road map of how to address the legal requirements of the Act."

Instrumental in the drafting of POPI

Cronjé, who was instrumental in the actual drafting and refinement of POPI and who also acted in an advisory capacity to parliament's Technical Working Committee on POPI, serving on both the Portfolio Committee for Justice and Constitutional Development as well as the National Council for Provinces, has collaborated with Innovatec Africa to develop the content for these seminars.

The events will be hosted at the Innovatec Africa offices in Sandton on 2 and 9 December 2014, and 13 January 2015, ensuring companies have ample time to garner an understanding of how they need to comply before the three-year deadline, from the appointment of the Information Regulator, comes into play.

"From dealing with customers we are seeing a specific need from businesses to understand the physical roles and responsibilities of those who need to be tasked with protecting this information better," said Daniella Mandel, Partner Relationship Manager of Innovatec Africa. "We aim not only to provide clarity on this through the seminars, but also to empower customers to understand the importance of performing a privacy impact assessment as well provide them with an understanding of how to manage privacy and information protection initiatives in their organisations."

According to Mandel, it is in a company's favour to get started now with better understanding how POPI will directly impact on its business as the three-year deadline from the appointment of the Information Regulator is, according to government, an immovable one.

Workshops

Looking ahead, Innovatec will also be providing tailored POPI workshops and training for all level of employees in a business. From CEOs and Chief Information Officers right through to security personnel and data capturers, training will be tailored to each customer and will cover the express industry requirements of each client.

Morning and afternoon sessions will be run from 8am to 12 noon and 1pm to 5pm on each day. Customers booking for the 2 December, 2014, morning session will be able to take advantage of an early-bird rate and pay R950 per delegate, all other sessions will be billed at R1890 per delegate.

For more, go to www.innovatecafrica.com/training-courses/popi