The spectre of the Protection of Personal Information (Popi) Act looms ever closer, and while some companies will see the new regulation as something of a headache as they work to get their data management procedures in order, the threat of serious sanctions for those failing to comply gives a new perspective on the importance of data security. Those who want to see the bright side of this situation will view the regulation as a chance to get their cloud in order. And for cloud providers, Popi serves as an opportunity to differentiate from competitors by offering a watertight solution to data security. While much of the regulation will be a fairly straightforward evolution — or hardening — of existing processes, it will still represent a new challenge for companies with small IT teams or whose expertise doesn’t lie in data security. In the past, it was easy enough to outsource data management. However, Popi will require an added level of trust for those companies outsourcing the sto...