Fractional DPO and CISO: Why a Long-term Partnership Matters

Private equity houses are facing increasing pressure to protect their investments against cyber criminality while also facing stiffer regulatory requirements. Fractional DPO and CISO leadership has increasingly become an attractive solution as it provides services on a needs basis thereby reducing overheads. However, it is not enough to treat these roles as short-term or reactionary interventions. Data protection and information security considerations should form a key part of a company’s strategic planning therefore it makes sense to form a long-term partnership with your fractional DPO and CISO services provider.

At the portfolio level, data protection and information security can be perceived as compliance tick boxes rather than strategic enablers. When bogged down with day-to-day operations it’s easy to forget that a DPO fosters client trust by reducing  the risk of regulatory fines by ensuring compliance with regulations and that a CISO ensures that systems and networks are resilient, secure and capable of supporting business growth.

A long-term partnership with your fractional DPO and CISO provider enables them to evolve with the organisation.  They move from being reactionary, fire-fighting entities to proactive contributors, aligning data protection and information security policies and frameworks with wider business goals. For example, by embedding cyber resilience into digital transformation strategies or by supporting global growth by developing robust data transfer safeguards. These benefits can only be achieved when your fractional DPO and CISO are considered part of the team, as long-term strategic partners, rather than quick fixes to problems.

Trust is fundamental for effective governance and is built through long-term engagement. When the fractional DPO and CISO work with the organisation for a sustained period they develop a deep understanding of how the organisation works, its systems, risk appetite and culture which enables them to provide deeply nuanced advice and leadership. Portfolio management teams, boards and external stakeholders gain confidence when they see continuity of data protection and information security leadership, and this has a direct impact on achieving successful exits.  It helps foster stronger relationship between management teams and investors. With continuity, the DPO and CISO become the voice of assurance across the portfolio, which helps private equity houses demonstrate strong governance to regulators, customers and potential acquirers.

It also of course  creates efficiencies and reduces the risk of gaps which can happen with frequent supplier changes. Fractional leadership is by nature cost-effective, but this is further increased by long-term partnerships:

1.        Lower onboarding costs: longer contracts with your DPO and CISO means less turnover and less need for knowledge transfer which lowers costs. It also significantly reduces burden on resources of frequent onboarding.

2.        Portfolio wide scalability: private equity houses can deploy the same fractional leadership across their entire portfolio, leveraging shared frameworks and consistent reporting.

3.        Reduced risk of costly incidents: continuity of leadership reduces the likelihood of security incidents, data breaches and thus fines which protects enterprise value and ensures smooth exits.

To truly align your data protection and information security goals with your long-term business strategy, long term partnerships with your fractional DPO and CISO must be developed. This enables trust to be developed and maintained with stakeholders, efficiencies are made and risks reduced. Ultimately this strengthens portfolio resilience, ensures that enterprise value is protected and leads to successful exits.

Eleni is a Director of Penpole Consulting, a Cyber Security service provider that helps Private Equity firms maximise portfolio company value by improving cyber security posture and reducing operational risk.