eXate – Planet Compliance RegTech Interview (2021)

Let start with a brief introduction, what can you tell us about eXate and your RegTech offering?  

eXate is a data privacy solution provider that specialise in helping companies comply with data privacy regulations – whether GDPR, CCPA or Schrems II – in an automated manner.

What are some of the biggest challenges your solutions you solve for your clients?

One of the biggest challenges our clients face, and therefore what they need the eXate solution for, is automating manual processes as well as ensuring full compliance with current/future data privacy regulations.

Another major challenge is around cross-border data compliance in-line with Schrems II and other data privacy regulations. By using multiple Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs) we are able to consistently protect their sensitive data.

Could you give us a use case of why a client came to you and how they are using your solution to solve their particular challenge? 

For a multinational Financial services organisation, we integrated the eXate platform at a proxy level in their API gateway (Apigee) in order to centrally control access to sensitive data, both internally as well as when shared with 3rd parties.

eXate allowed attribute-level data privacy using the Principle of Least Privilege to ensure that people only see the data required for them to do their job

Additionally, we allowed the client to apply the same internal data policy to data that is shared with a 3rd party and to have the ability to revoke data when they no longer want to share it.

How would you describe the differences between your offering from others in your RegTech category?

The key ways in which eXate is unique is:

  • We allow for attribute-level data protection,
    • We aggregate multiple PETs for the consistent protection of sensitive data,
    • …and we have the ability to consistently mask data where required across a variety of different data sources.

What advice would you give to decision makers when choosing a RegTech solution such as the ones your offer?

Many firms are spending a lot of time and money on implementing a multitude of different PETs, whereas eXate allows you to aggregate these into a single, user-friendly solution which democratises data privacy and allows everyone within the organisation the ability protect data without needing advanced knowledge and/or specific qualifications.

Due to the global pandemic a lot has changed in the world in the last year. How has your company changed in the in the last 12 months?

Since the onset of the global pandemic which has seen more employees than ever before working from home, leading to renewed interest in the ways in which data is protected when you are not in a secured environment, such as an office. As a company we have in fact seen significant demand from firms with call-centres needing help to protect data out of the secure environment

Can you tell us about some of your most recent achievements or milestones you’ve reached?

In December 2020 eXate announced a £2.3 million seed round led by Outward VC, with additional backing from ING Ventures and Triple Point Ventures, to help accelerate business growth and develop the DataSecOps platform.

Another key achievement for the company, which we are particularly proud to have accomplished during the pandemic, is a 35% increase to our team adding members to our operational and technology teams in both the UK and in India.

What drives you as company & what is eXate long-term vision?

What drives us as a company is the fact that data privacy should be simple and there should be no barriers to protecting sensitive data. And our long-term vision is to ultimately be the go-to data privacy company – when an organisation realises the need to secure their data, they’ll simply “eXate it”!

What are some of the important developments you are seeing in the RegTech industry?

Regulations are constantly changing, and people are constantly having to rework their IT solutions to adapt to these changes. By constantly chasing their tail to deal with these changes it adds unnecessary financial burdens on the organisation, but using eXate’s overlay technology it is as simple as changing the rules which are simply enforced across systems, reducing the need for major technological changes.

Another development we have noticed is that a lot of companies typically do not build data privacy into their solution from the start, therefore we are seeing an increase in demand for people to partner with eXate in order to embed our solution into their product.

What’s next for eXate?

Even though we recently closed our funding round we are on track to be raising the next round within the next 12 months based upon the significant client uptake we have been seeing. Additionally, we are looking to increase the number of industries and geographies we serve and to continually improve the functionality of the product to make it even more automated.

What are you doing with regards to AI and machine learning?

We have a lot of interest and enquiries around this, and the challenge around AI and machine learning is less around the models and algorithms however all around gaining access to the data that is required to train the algorithms.

eXate has been strongly focussed on simplifying the access to the data such that the data scientists can use the multiple PETs depending on the type of algorithm they are using.

What’s the best way for potential clients or investors to get in touch with you?

People are able to contact us through one of the following:

  • Email us on info@exate.com
    • Give us a call on +44 (0) 20 37450713
    • Or click here to arrange a demo with one of our product experts.

Lavanya Rathnam

Lavanya Rathnam is an experienced technology, finance, and compliance writer. She combines her keen understanding of regulatory frameworks and industry best practices with exemplary writing skills to communicate complex concepts of Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) in clear and accessible language. Lavanya specializes in creating informative and engaging content that educates and empowers readers to make informed decisions. She also works with different companies in the Web 3.0, blockchain, fintech, and EV industries to assess their products’ compliance with evolving regulations and standards.

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