Data within a CRM consists primarily of professional contact details-yet these remain personal data under EU law. The practical distinction lies in the lawful basis: legitimate interest for business-to-business relations versus explicit consent for marketing communications.
This guide outlines the functional requirements a system must support to ensure compliance; it does not replace specific legal counsel tailored to your company's jurisdiction and operations.
In short
- Documented lawful basis of processing per data category.
- Consent recorded by channel and purpose, including timestamp and source.
- Immediate application and propagation of consent withdrawal.
- Automated retention policies, moving beyond mere declarative statements.
- Data export and deletion capabilities for subject requests with full traceability.
Concrete System Configurations
Ensure your Smart Operations Layer includes these five essential elements:
- Consent fields with a complete versioned history of changes.
- Role-based access control (RBAC) to restrict data visibility to necessary staff.
- Audit logs for access to sensitive or high-volume data categories.
- Anonymisation or deletion rules triggered upon retention expiry.
- A documented technical procedure for responding to data subject requests.
Frequently asked questions
See how it works in CRMconnect
Native modules for sales, quoting and reporting, integrated with the ERP you already run.
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