What is the European Union's Data Protection Directive (EUDPD) and does my OpenCRM system meet these guidelines?

The European Union has a data protection Directive which in essence protects users data from being stored outside of  European Union countries.

One of the core elements of this directive is to create a set of guidelines that protect personal data and to achieve the adherence to these guidelines data needs to be stored within the judicial boundaries of the European Union and its members.

The essence of the directive is that data should only be held on systems within a Union country.

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We have just published something of a general outline of what exactly Customer Relationship Management is. Seeing as you have found your way onto this site it's a fair assumption that you already have a good idea of what CRM software is and can do, but it's always good to have a few definitions on hand. To read the article please click here.

When you use something on a daily basis, it quickly becomes a part of your routine. This might be the route you choose to drive to work, how you make a cup of coffee in the morning, or some of the ways you approach your work, or in our case, your CRM solution. Sometimes it takes a bit of observation and input from someone else to suggest improvements to your routine. Of course your first reaction will probably be to defend your way of doing things, after all this is how you have always done things – no-one likes change for the sake of it!

Once your pride has been swallowed however, you’ll

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A real benefit a CRM solution can bring to your organisation is one of information consistency.

Moving away from disparate siloed solutions and folders containing spreadsheets and data lists dotted all over on different machines means this data remains constant, with the added advantage of being able to track any alterations that are made.

Data conformity in CRM stems from the fact that everyone in your organisation is working on the same page. Instead of individuals or departments having their own copies of customer records, everyone remotely accesses and uses the same record. This means

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Year in year out, this is the period in the calendar when people throw themselves head first into those New Year’s resolutions. They come in many shapes and forms but often fall into common categories – healthy diet, active living, a more positive approach to family and working life. More often than not it will be these same resolutions that were made the year before, and they are the resolutions that tend to fall by the wayside come this time next month.

If you need that kick in the rear every now and then to remind you to take advantage of your expensive gym membership, or your

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