‘Switch on Trust’: Trunomi

Trunomi uses patented technology to help businesses improve visibility and understanding of Customer Data, Consent & Permissions, and prove compliance with Global Data Privacy Regulations. It is the only company able to do so without having to process, see or store a business’s raw data. The company holds multiple patents, using two core technologies, TruCertTM and TruID, to power its philosophy of Privacy by Design.

Shawn Brown spoke exclusively to The Silicon Review. Below is an extract.

Could you summarize what your company does?

Trunomi’s Consent Engine improves visibility and understanding of Customer Data, generating actionable Customer Data Insights while eliminating risk. With us, businesses can prove compliance with Global Regulation, building trust with customers and regulators alike - and they can do so without Trunomi ever seeing or storing the raw Personal Data. This is what makes us entirely unique: we’re the only ones to ensure that source data remains safe, secure and never leaves the business’s environment - as such, we’re the only ones able to offer a true solution to Data Privacy by Design. There’s no reason to be scared of data breaches or hacks if you don’t share that data in the first place!

How does the technology work?

Our secret sauce is a combination of two core patented technologies: TruCertTM and TruID. TruCertTM is an immutable (tamper-proof) digital record of Consent & Permissions. The TruCertTM record is explicit, time-bound, verifiable, contextual and granular; it serves as an audit-ready record of consent and any permission that relates to a specific customer for the use of data in a specific context. This level of contextual intelligence is what we refer to as the Who, What, Where, Why, When (Customer ID, Data Type, Purpose of Processing, Time-stamp) and allows us to power the Consent & Permissions Trends displayed via the Dynamic Dashboard. The Dashboard is essentially where stakeholders (Marketing, Data, Compliance teams) gain their 360-degree view of Customer Data, Permissions &Trends generated by global activity. Finally, we’ve built an off-the-shelf Customer ‘My Data’ Portal – it’s a white-labelable portal which provides the end customer with improved visibility and control over their data preferences. We also integrate with third-party tools and systems, e.g CRMs and loyalty platforms, so these teams have the latest, real-time correct Consent & Permission data wherever they need it - be it in Salesforce, Mailchimp, or any other system.

Describe the applications for this type of technology.

Good question – there’s a wide range of existing use cases. Of course, any company that wants to increase revenue, eliminate risk and adopt a socially responsible approach to Personal Data can do so with Trunomi. But beyond that, the underlying TruCertTM, TruID and ledger technology is incredibly powerful and can be used to solve complex issues around privacy globally - for example, the implementation of hitherto unsolved Privacy by Design frameworks in Financial Services (KYC), Connected Cars, Smart Mobility, Smart Homes, Connected Services and ad-tech. In each sector, we eliminate the risk by providing full visibility and accountability of the Personal Data collected and the contexts in which it is processed. For example, within Financial Services, Trunomi wraps around existing ID and business processes to help manage, move and prove correct Consent & Permissions, and Customer Interactions as they relate to the use of Personal Data. Let’s take KYC as an example - banks can eliminate the unnecessary risk of sharing source documents used to personally identify customers (email address, passport, driving license, etc.) Instead, we create an immutable TruCert record of the fact that a KYC check has successfully taken place, and share that record of KYC instead. It’s a win-win – and the source data stays safe and secure.

How easy it is to implement Trunomi?

Incredibly easy. We wrap around a business’s existing processes and connect to over 150 different databases. And of course, we never see or store the data – so there’s no Data Migration process. Using our pointer technology we can even point back to where the source data is kept. I think the quickest we’ve ever integrated was in under two hours, so I look forward to breaking that record soon!

What is the biggest asset to your organization and why?

The single most important factor is that we don’t touch raw data. If a company wants to build trust and revenue, they needn’t compromise their ethics or their level of social responsibility. Similarly, if they want to adopt an efficient and ethical approach to their handling of customer data, they need not sacrifice revenue. We’re the first to crack this in a way that ensures security and Privacy by Design. I think that’s why we’ve had such an amazing response.

Where does your reputation come from?

The very same reason – we really are the only ones to do what we do, whether that’s improve visibility, transparency, drive uncompromising intelligence, eliminate risk, or simply build trust, revenue and better, stronger customer relationships - we can do so without seeing or storing the data.

Where do you see Trunomi going in the next twelve months?

We are seeing significant traction globally and hope to open offices in Asia-Pacific in the next 12 months, laying the foundations to become the standard in Customer Consent & Permissions.

‘Switch on Trust’: Trunomi’s CEO

Shawn Brown, the CEO of Trunomi

With a background in mobile technologies and data regulation, Brown is tech curious and spent his early years in technology sales. Working in the SME sector to deliver scale and revenue for technology companies, Brown is a growth specialist and likes to bring new technologies to market for the greater good.

"Why share raw data when you can share TruCert.”