Data Privacy Week is a global initiative that aims to promote privacy awareness, protect sensitive information and foster trust among individuals and businesses. In 2022, Sommer Coutu became the Chief Privacy Officer of Dell Technologies. To commemorate Data Privacy Week, I sat down with Sommer to discuss our collaborative efforts over the past year and her vision for the future of data privacy.
John Scimone: It’s been a little over a year since you became Dell’s Chief Privacy Officer. What has been your biggest takeaway so far?
Sommer Coutu: The world of security and privacy is rapidly evolving. We must constantly adapt and expand the way that we think about privacy and how we meet our commitments with respect to personal data. Just this last year, we’ve seen the expansion of emerging technologies, like generative AI and large language models, lead to unique considerations around the use of personal data within the confines of existing privacy regulations and the emergence of new regulations. While the evolution of technology presents exciting opportunities for the future, we cannot forget to ensure that we must continue to offer individuals choice and control over their own personal data. Privacy, like security, can’t be a bolt on to our products and services; it must be built into the foundation.
John Scimone: How do you see privacy and security evolving together in the future?
Sommer Coutu: In my mind, these things have always gone hand in hand and will only become increasingly intertwined. For individuals to have meaningful choice and control over the use of their personal data, they must be confident that their data is protected from bad actors and unauthorized access.
Additionally, we must consider our customers’ own privacy commitments and requirements as well. This gives us an opportunity to ensure we are providing products and solutions with security features that enable our customers to meet their privacy and security obligations.
John Scimone: How do you see the evolution of technology impacting the privacy world?
Sommer Coutu: When we think about the transformation happening around the world due to technologies like AI and machine learning, data is at the center.
We know that much of the data that has the potential to unlock significant transformation in human progress involves the personal data of individuals. I believe that privacy will continue to grow in importance to our customers, their customers, regulators and leaders around the world. At Dell, we’re thinking about what that means for our own compliance, our customers’ compliance and for the products and services that we sell to enable our customers.
John Scimone: You and I have worked closely together on Dell’s ESG Trust strategy. How do you see our Trust strategy evolving?
Sommer Coutu: In 2023, Dell announced our new ESG Trust pillar, which is a three-pronged strategy inclusive of privacy, security and ethics and compliance. In listening to customers, we realized how important these key aspects are in building trust. Privacy, security and ethics are especially important in building trust when it comes to the use and creation of new technologies, like AI. Dell is committed to developing and implementing AI ethically and responsibly to help businesses and people innovate.
John Scimone: One of Privacy’s key drivers for the Trust strategy is making it easier and faster for customers to exercise choice and control over their personal data. How are you working toward meeting that goal?
Sommer Coutu: We believe in continuous improvement when it comes to enhancing the ability of our customers to understand how Dell interacts with their personal data, and the choice and control they retain over that data. Toward that end, we have continued to make improvements to and expand the Dell Privacy Center, which provides in-depth knowledge to end users about Dell privacy policies and practices, as well as their consumer privacy rights. In addition, the Privacy Center allows individuals to submit requests to exercise their privacy rights and direct questions to Dell’s privacy team. We continually strive to make access to this information and these resources easier while expanding the Privacy Center to more locations globally. We also continually listen to customers to understand their expectations and requirements so we can continually evolve our processes and practices to earn customer trust every day.
John Scimone: Given the rapid industry transformation, where do you think your focus will be this coming year?
Sommer Coutu: The focus of privacy by design is to weave privacy into the fabric of all that we do. To get privacy right, we need to be thinking about it not just this week, but daily. At Dell, this means we will ensure every member of our team understands the importance of assessing privacy implications and embedding privacy controls into our technologies and processes from the outset.
To learn more, check out these resources from the National Cybersecurity Alliance and follow the hashtag #DataPrivacyWeek on social media.
