Legal aspects of the digital transformation, why is it crucially important that organizations have the support and accompaniment of expert in-house lawyers to guarantee the success of their Digital Transformation?

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The digital transformation is here to stay and for companies it is essential to have in-house lawyers who are experts in the legal aspects that are implicit in a change of this magnitude and who know the operations and needs of the company.

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Just as in recent years many companies have turned to a Digital Transformation process that has made them more competitive and has allowed them to adapt their management to more digitized processes, it is also true that, until very recently, digital transformation was a challenge still pending for most of the productive sectors of the business world.

With the hasty circumstances arising from the Covid-19 crisis and its immediate impact on the economy and business, companies have been forced to accelerately address the digitization of their operations, processes and relationships, in order to help your key areas to achieve their objectives or, as has been seen in many cases, to ensure business continuity.

The digital transformation has come to stay and for companies it is essential to have in-house lawyers who are experts in the legal aspects that are implicit in a change of this magnitude and who know the operations and needs of the company, as it will require ensuring compliance legal and the protection of the rights of the company, its employees and clients throughout this process.

The professional profile of the in-house lawyer during a digital transformation process requires knowledge, mastery and constant updating in four fundamental aspects of crucial importance for organizations:

• Homeworking, remote work or teleworking: adopting this new work model represents a great challenge for companies and their workers; abruptly and due to the measures taken during the crisis generated by the pandemic, companies found it necessary to replace the face-to-face working day with the figure of remote work or telework, a modality for which not all the business fabric was prepared from a technological point of view, in addition to the lack of a broad legal framework to regulate the new labor reality. To this day, teleworking is considered by many companies as something positive and desirable. However, it is very important that companies that have adopted this new model or are considering adopting it as a sustainable possibility, adapt their internal policies to the new regulation, taking into account its essential legal aspects: to whom it applies (sporadic or regular teleworking of the employee), voluntary (employer, employee) and reversible nature, equal rights between face-to-face and remote workers, compensation of teleworker expenses, supply of tools, equipment and means of work, essential digital rights, data protection and company security , use and protection of company assets and digital devices, fair distribution of working hours to guarantee the disconnection and flexibility of the remote worker and prevention of occupational risks inherent to remote work (ergonomic, psychosocial).

• Digitization and automation of processes: Migrations to services that are hosted in the cloud, adoption of solutions that integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the analysis and intelligent decision-making, digitization of documentation and the incorporation of processes that require digital signatures , the use of application programming interfaces (APIs) or technologies to interact efficiently with suppliers, customers and other operators. The implementation of all these changes and the incorporation of new digital projects in the company must be carried out under a planned, strict and supervised work methodology, but also taking care of all the legal details implicit in the selection of solutions or development providers. technology, acquisition of software and equipment (negotiation of contracts, deliverables, penalties, risk analysis, contingency plans and computer security) so that the digital transformation is safe, scalable, in the established times and brings true value to the company , increasing its competitiveness, efficiency and avoiding putting the continuity of the business and its operations at risk.

• Privacy and data protection: as company processes are digitized, the flow and exchange of data (personal and non-personal) and the amount of information collected from stakeholders (customers, suppliers, business partners) also increases. affect your privacy. To protect privacy, there are restrictions on the use of certain technologies or the application of certain commercial practices that companies must strictly comply with in order to comply with the current legal framework. Commercial communication practices through digital platforms, online marketing campaigns, use of cookies to collect information from users, use of customer location to send promotions, among others, are regulated activities that the company must take into consideration. to avoid legal risks. In the same way, the treatment of personal data carried out by remote workers must be ensured, establishing for them the same internal security measures and policies that govern face-to-face workers.

• Management and protection of intangible assets: the digital transformation of companies leads them to wonder if in their new businesses, sales channels or online communication with other companies, clients or directly with the end consumer, their patents, brands and everything that is of their exclusive property are protected to act accordingly and to continue generating value and business opportunities being well protected. In the process of innovation and digital adaptation, for companies, as legal persons, it is essential to always keep in mind their large assets, the so-called intangibles, legally protected in the form of Intellectual or Industrial Property and that are the exclusive rights over their inventions, designs, developments, integrated circuits, trademarks, distinctive signs, logos, commercial slogans and other elements related to the market, industry and commerce. In this sense, also the new developments and technological solutions in which the company invests during its digital transformation must be protected under the same criteria and the action of the expert lawyer in this matter will be decisive.

The adaptation to digital and automated processes of the support, operations and business areas of the company must go hand in hand with expert in-house lawyers so that their participation in decision-making in these areas guarantees success from the perspective legal and legal responsibility of the company in its Digital Transformation, covering the legal protection of the intangible assets of the organization that are generated in a digital transformation process: new IT developments, know-how and business secret; as well as ensuring the correct treatment of personal data, the ethical use of AI, relations with employees, control authorities and public institutions, the anticipation of legal risks before third parties and the security of information, among other aspects.

 

 

 

 

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