Many organizations have spent substantial resources to ensure internal compliance with GDPR and will spend even more to comply with the CCPA in the coming year. According to an economic impact study commissioned by the California Department of Finance, the initial costs to American businesses could exceed $55 billion, with some organizations spending $2 million or more to ensure their operations follow the new privacy regulations.

Many will spend quite a bit more. Organizations with over $1 billion in revenue are estimated to  spend between $10 to $100 million to prepare for the CCPA. These estimates include a minimum of ten new fulltime hires dedicated to compliance. Much of those resources will be used for addressing customer complaints, a task to which organizations will apply people, process and technology.

But these efforts still leave a gaping hole in compliance: their vendors. Both GDPR and CCPA make it clear that an organization is fully responsible for the vendors within their supply chains, and the onus is on those organizations to ensure compliance. Most companies don't realize the significance of this mandate and have taken little to no steps to ensure compliance. This creates substantial reputational, regulatory and financial risks.