DPO-as-a-Service
Strategy and planning
Strategy and planning
DPO-as-a-Service means outsourcing the Data Protection Officer role: a specialist fills it on a subscription basis for a few hours a month.
The model suits organisations that need or want the role but do not have a full position for it. You get fixed hours per month, a point of contact for questions and incidents, and periodic reporting to the board.
What you usually agree: availability, which work is included (supervision, advice, keeping the processing register, incidents), what counts as extra, and how independence is arranged.
Note the difference from a privacy consultant. A consultant helps you set something up or clean it up; a DPO supervises afterwards. Having the same person do both can create a conflict.
In practice
Taking a two-hour-a-month subscription and assuming privacy is now 'handled'. Execution still sits with your own teams.
Related terms
- DPOA DPO (Data Protection Officer) is the internal supervisor of how an organisation handles personal data.
- ConsultancyConsultancy is paid advice from outside your organisation: a consultant analyses a question, advises on the approach and often helps with the execution too.
- InterimInterim means temporary: someone fills a role in your organisation for a defined period — during illness, parental leave, an open vacancy or a project that needs extra steering.