The privacy of the data stored on our website and making sustainable use of it is a fundamental commitment at the business level. Every business needs to manage its customers’ data sensitively to maintain their trust. But that’s not all, it is also necessary to apply legal and security measures to ensure not only the protection of your company, but also of its consumers.
TrustArc is a key tool when it comes to maintaining control of our data and ensuring compliance with regulations such as GDPR or CCPA. But… is it the solution your business needs? To help you in this decision, we have conducted an in-depth analysis of TrustArc, focusing on what this tool offers us, its features, advantages and disadvantages, who it is aimed at, the implementation process, pricing as well as its corresponding alternatives.
What is TrustArc
TrustArc is a privacy platform that, in a centralized way, allows us to manage compliance with regulatory requirements such as GDPR, CCPA, and similar, within our company. Its goal is to simplify privacy management through different modules ranging from user consent to data mapping, risk assessments, and also incident management.
With a score of 7.2 out of 10 and broad user satisfaction, TrustArc stands out in areas such as the complete automation of data subject rights requests (ASRR), which facilitates compliance with regulations efficiently and without the need to assign a dedicated team to the task.
Regarding alternatives, TrustArc ranks as one of the most popular products due to its extensive content covering both technical and security aspects. Although some of the necessary steps for implementation can be complex for smaller companies, it is a highly valued solution.
Key Features of TrustArc
Since we know what TrustArc is and what it is for, let’s now focus on the key features that make this security software a market benchmark. Its modular approach, as well as the specialization of each of its sections, are the key elements, but there is more.
- Consent Management: TrustArc allows us to manage the consent preferences of users accessing our services. In this module, TrustArc Consent Management, everything happens automatically and always in compliance and adapting to the regulations.
- Data Discovery and Mapping: This is a module specialized in tracking the flow of data within the company. It provides a complete map of all information flows, which is vital when responding to inquiries and for compliance with privacy regulations.
- Automated Subject Rights Requests (ASRR): In line with the previous module, this allows us to automate responses to data access, correction, and deletion requests. A vital module to reduce the workload of the responsible team.
- Incident Response Support (Risk Management): Risk management is another of TrustArc’s strengths. In the event of a security breach, this module offers real-time support and allows us to manage a fast and well-informed response from a single place.
- Integrations with other business tools: Finally, integration with a wide variety of enterprise systems, such as Salesforce and Oracle, is key to adapting TrustArc to specific solutions such as digital advertising or Artificial Intelligence.
Pros and Cons of TrustArc
To continue forming a clear idea of what TrustArc is capable of, let’s now look at it through the lens of pros and cons. While we will find many more advantages, there are also some drawbacks that, depending on our needs, may lead us to consider alternatives.
Advantages of Using TrustArc
- High security satisfaction: Customer satisfaction and recommendation rates from those who have already implemented this tool in their systems are really high. The reliability of the software is something to take into strong consideration for what is an essential system within the company.
- Customer support and implementation assistance: Although implementation can be somewhat intimidating, the TrustArc technical team makes everything seem simple. Something as overwhelming as configuring a banner or consent mode is as easy as clicking on the URL provided by the platform. Additionally, once onboarding is complete, customer service is simply exceptional.
- Flexibility in module selection: One of the biggest advantages, as we can tailor the platform to our specific needs by choosing exactly the modules we require and subsequently configuring them as necessary.
- Wide range of integrations: Finally, the ability to connect with other systems within the company’s infrastructure is fundamental for efficient management and to avoid making major changes to systems we already know.
Disadvantages of Using TrustArc
- Adaptation process in updates: When new features and improvements arrive on the platform, they can sometimes require some adaptation time. It is advisable to always have some reserved time to get familiar with these future updates.
- Complex and demanding initial configuration: Although with technical support the process is usually quite fast, a well-done integration requires a considerable amount of work and involvement from the IT team.
- High prices for smaller companies: While TrustArc’s price generally fits the needs of each company, for those starting out or smaller in size, the cost can be significant.
Who TrustArc is for
Having seen its main capabilities, as well as the pros and cons, a target audience for this tool begins to take shape. It is clear that any company will benefit from the power of TrustArc to centralize compliance, but there are certain scenarios where this solution fits with great precision.
- Medium and large companies that already have a structure they want to centralize.
- Organizations in highly regulated industries (financial, healthcare, technology, retail, and telecommunications).
- Compliance teams, with roles such as Chief Privacy Officer and Data Protection Officer who need centralized access to carry out their functions.
- Companies requiring a comprehensive and automated approach to consent management and rights requests.
- Organizations that need to adapt to different regulations in the markets where they operate.
- Businesses that value integration with other management and security tools already present in their infrastructure.
Why should my business use TrustArc?
Throughout this analysis, we have spoken with security experts, as well as companies that have already implemented TrustArc in their systems. Based on this, we can highlight several points that explain why a company should use this tool.
- Automation and efficiency in compliance processes: This translates into a considerable reduction in the workload of the teams responsible for compliance.
- Specialized support and continuous training: This support allows us to get the maximum performance from this tool and its updates and new features at all times.
- Modular flexibility: This allows us to start only with the essential modules and successively add those we need to cover all scenarios.
- Security and adherence to international regulations: Through TrustArc certifications that guarantee the traceability and verifiability of our compliance.
Why do some companies not use TrustArc?
From a complementary perspective, there are several reasons that lead some companies to consider alternatives. We can highlight the following:
- Adaptation to updates: Sometimes a certain degree of training is needed after the arrival of new features or updates. Something that not all companies have the resources or time to carry out.
- Initial setup process: The difficulty of onboarding is one of the main points some companies consider when exploring alternatives.
- Pricing structure for smaller companies: TrustArc’s price is always a factor to consider. While scalability increases the return on investment, the situation is different for smaller companies.
TrustArc Prices and Discounts
Although TrustArc does not publicly disclose its rates, we do know that the total price largely depends on the number and type of modules selected. As a general rule, the cost for an average implementation in a company is around €20,000 per year.
Here we consider the discounts available for annual plans, as well as the possibility to try TrustArc for free through a demo to evaluate the suitability of the platform ourselves.
Implementation, training, and documentation
The implementation of TrustArc is a process that involves the collaboration of different departments, such as IT, legal, and compliance, but in itself, it is a simple process. In this regard, TrustArc offers us:
- Consulting and managed services: During the implementation of TrustArc, we have personalized advice to achieve the optimal configuration of the tool.
- Varied training programs: We have online courses, self-learning articles, and training sessions that allow us to quickly master all the functionalities of the platform.
- Extensive online documentation: In the company’s knowledge base and support portal, we will find resources to resolve any doubts.
Although the process demands an initial investment of time and resources, it has been designed to be as intuitive as possible. The most important thing is that the entire new system will end up implemented and adapted to our current structure with precision.
Customer Service: How to Contact TrustArc?
TrustArc’s customer service is one of its strongest points and plays a decisive role in user satisfaction. Both during the implementation phase and afterwards, we have phone support, chat, and email to resolve any issues.
In addition, we are assigned a Customer Success Manager dedicated to us, which allows us to have the best responses at all times, always adapted to our specific business context.
Best alternatives: TrustArc vs OneTrust
To conclude our analysis of TrustArc, we need to talk about other platforms in the sector. The options are quite varied, but among them we highlight OneTrust.
OneTrust is a very complete and widely recognized platform in the field of privacy management. It focuses mainly on GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance) tools.
However, if we make a comparison between both platforms, we conclude that TrustArc offers better automation features, cookie usage, and specific compliance with privacy regulations, in which the tool featured in this article stands out.
TrustArc, privacy as a strategic pillar
TrustArc is a highly comprehensive privacy platform and very adaptable to the existing infrastructure of companies that require their data management to comply with all international standards. In fact, its good results have consolidated its position as one of the best security solutions currently available, being used today by businesses around the world.
Although the onboarding process can be somewhat demanding and its price is somewhat high for smaller companies, TrustArc exceeds our expectations. The versatility, quality of its module system and the customer support it offers us make the investment worthwhile.
With features such as its consent manager, data mapping, and automation of all rights requests, we can affirm that TrustArc adapts like no other to regulations. We are faced with a tool that greatly facilitates managing our customers’ data according to regulations such as GDPR or CCPA.
Do we recommend TrustArc? Without a doubt. Within the field of privacy management, we are facing one of the industry’s leaders.