Technology & AI for Business
Your business holds more of other people's information than you probably think.
Phone numbers in a billing app, ID copies in a WhatsApp group, a customer list on a shared spreadsheet, CCTV footage, staff records in a drawer. Handling all this carefully is both good practice and increasingly a legal matter. This session keeps to practical habits owners can adopt now, and points to where the law should be checked.
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People trust you with their details. That is part of the product.
Customers give a phone number or an address because they trust you will use it for the order and nothing else. Staff give identity documents and bank details at joining. When that information leaks, is shared in a group, or is sold on without thought, the damage lands on real people, and on your reputation.
India now has a data protection law. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and its Rules, notified in November 2025, are being brought into force in stages, and they are covered in depth in the legal and compliance sessions. This session does not interpret them. It builds the everyday habits that make any legal compliance easier, and it says plainly when something needs professional advice: please check the DPDP Act and Rules, and the current dates, for what applies to your business.
What the session covers
34 topics across 7 areas. Seven parts, from what you hold to what you do when it goes wrong.
What Personal Data You HoldStart with an honest list.5
- Customers: names, numbers, addresses, purchase history, photos
- Staff: ID copies, bank details, attendance, medical or family details
- Suppliers and partners: contact and bank details
- Website visitors, CCTV and call recordings
- Where each sits: apps, spreadsheets, phones, paper
The copies nobody remembers, on old phones and chat groups, are usually the riskiest.
Collect LessThe safest data is the data you never took.5
- Asking only for what the task needs
- Whether a photocopy of an ID is really needed for the task at hand
- Optional fields that can simply be left out
- Being careful with sensitive details such as health or financial information
- Checking the rules before collecting government ID numbers
Keep Less, For Less TimeOld data is only a liability.4
Some records must be kept for set periods under other laws. Check with your accountant or adviser before deleting anything on that list.
- Deciding how long each kind of record is needed
- Which records have to be kept for tax or other reasons, to be confirmed with your accountant
- Deleting what is no longer needed, including from backups and phones
- Cleaning out former employees' records and old exports
Who Sees WhatAccess follows the job.5
- Role-based access instead of one shared login
- Customer lists on personal phones and private chat groups
- Screens, printouts and files left in view
- Removing access when roles change or people leave
- A simple log of who has been given what
Sharing With OthersEvery handover is a risk.5
- Software providers, accountants, couriers, marketing agencies
- What to ask a vendor about how they handle your customers' data
- Sending a file by link with a limited audience rather than as an attachment to many
- Checking the recipient before pressing send
- Pasting customer details into public AI tools
If you would not read the details aloud in a public place, think before pasting or forwarding them.
Telling People and Respecting Their ChoicesPlain honesty is a good start.5
- Saying clearly what you collect and why, at the point of collection
- Marketing messages and consent: asking, and stopping when asked
- What to do when someone asks to see, correct or remove their details
- A named person who answers such requests
- Where your own website privacy notice is, and whether it is accurate
When Something Goes WrongA wrong email will happen. Be ready.5
- A file sent to the wrong person or a lost phone
- Stopping further spread, then finding out what was exposed
- Writing down what happened, when and who was affected
- When to take legal or compliance advice, and how quickly
- Telling affected people honestly, in plain words
Breach-reporting duties exist in some laws and directions and have deadlines. Check current rules or ask a professional early.
What participants leave with
- A one-page data map of their business, drawn in the room
- A “do we need this?” question list for forms and sign-up sheets
- A short staff do-and-don't list for customer information
- A mistake-response checklist
- A list of questions to take to a lawyer, CA or company secretary
What this session is not
- Legal advice, or a reading of what the DPDP Act and Rules require of a particular business
- A compliance certificate or audit
- A promise that following these habits satisfies any law
- A substitute for the legal and compliance sessions, which go deeper
How the session runs
A practitioner explains each habit using everyday business examples, with any hypothetical example labelled as such. Participants map the personal information in their own business on a single page, mark what they could stop collecting or sharing, and write the first three changes they will make. Nobody is asked to share a real customer's details, and the session is built to be discussed in plain language rather than legal terms.
What your students leave with
- A simple map of what personal information their business collects and where it sits
- The habit of asking “do we really need this?” before collecting anything
- A clearer idea of who in the business needs to see what
- Safer ways to share information with staff, vendors and software providers
- A plan for what to do after a mistake, such as a wrongly sent file
- A short list of questions to take to a lawyer or compliance professional
Scheduled sessions
Nothing scheduled yet
Sessions are arranged with a college once a date is agreed. Ask us and we will find the right person for it.
A student rather than a college? See what is coming up, or ask your placement team to host this.
Ask for less, keep it for less time, share it with fewer people, and be honest when it goes wrong.
Tell us who your students are and what stage they are at. Sessions are free for participants.