Many US companies are taking their time to adapt to EU legislation . Hubspot, for example, says of the question of when existing customers can migrate their data to the EU data center (which would help in the current case): "We are currently targeting 2022. However, as development projects of this kind can be subject to unforeseeable delays, this schedule may change." Other US tools are no better or have not even begun to think about storing data in Europe.
The decision from Austria will certainly continue to spark discussions. On the one hand, US companies must make their products more GDPR-compliant and, on the other hand, companies that want to win customers in the EU should protect themselves well or use more data protection-friendly alternatives.
Seek
Look for alternatives or do without?
No company can afford to neglect the digitalization of marketing . In the age of artificial intelligence (AI), the fundamental question arises as to whether to rely on services that have a lot of know-how in this area or whether it is more important for the company to have the necessary raw data itself. What is given more weight is an individual decision by each company and its own digital compliance rules.
Simply switching off tools like Google Analytics would certainly not be an economically effective solution. Website data is often the beginning of a customer relationship and a basis for controlling the marketing ROI . It enables targeted and efficient market development. No company can afford not to actively use data and information about the behavior of customers and prospective customers, but rather to leave the competitive advantage gained through the use of such data unused.
In addition, website data is the key control factor for companies when it comes to communication with and services for existing customers. It is precisely this major influence on the success of a company's activities that is the main reason why Google Analytics has become the dominant provider worldwide. It is significant that even in China, where all Google services are blocked, an exception was made for Google Analytics . The state knows exactly how important such information is for the success of its own companies.
tools
Tools such as Matomo or server-side tracking can ensure legal certainty
Companies and organizations that do not want to have data about their customers, prospects or citizens on a server in the USA prefer to use Matomo. Matomo Analytics is therefore used by most federal offices and other government agencies such as cantons or municipalities, but also by banks and many companies and institutions for whom sovereignty over their data Azerbaijan Phone Number Resource is important. But this is not the right solution for every company.
Another solution to protect yourself is server-side tracking. The website operator then becomes the first-party data owner and enables GDPR-compliant processing. Server-side tracking is the lowest common denominator : I decouple Google and the visitor to my website. With this solution, you have control over which data is passed on to whom. However, you should bear in mind that information from the tool providers can be questioned. Self-interest in the solutions does not necessarily create a neutral position.
In the EU, the use of a compliance tool is necessary anyway, which should not come from Google itself, but rather enables the encryption of personal data on European soil, i.e. before it is transferred to Google or another analytics tool. This is because the website operator can only anonymize or encrypt if he has sovereignty over this. Due to upcoming EU laws and especially in view of the decisions of browser manufacturers, companies and advertisers are forced to rethink their cookie management in the context of online marketing. The current event is therefore a good opportunity to put your own strategy to the test.
It makes no sense to blame providers like Google for the misery. Google offers tools like Google Analytics or Google Ads that advertisers want and are willing to use. Now it is up to the companies to decide which customer data they make available to Google and other advertising networks and which they do not.
