🔷 SERIES: 30 PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION COMPLIANCE SCENARIOS IN EVERYDAY BUSINESS OPERATIONS - #18: CUSTOMER CARE VIA ZALO, FACEBOOK, EXCEL, CRM: WHERE IS YOUR DATA ACTUALLY STORED?

loanlelawlinkvn
22 hours ago
2 min read

In many organizations, customer data does not reside in a single official system. Some of it may be stored in a CRM, some in sales teams’ Excel files, some in Zalo or Facebook messages, work emails, or internal chat groups. When viewed individually, this setup may appear to reflect operational flexibility. However, from a personal data protection perspective, it is a classic sign of fragmented and hard-to-control data.

The biggest risk in these situations is not necessarily a cyberattack. The real risk lies in the company not knowing exactly where customer data exists, who holds copies, who can export files, and whether data remains outside official systems when employees leave or change roles. The more informal touchpoints exist, the harder it becomes to establish consistent control mechanisms.

A practical tip for sales operations:

Companies should conduct a customer data mapping review across commonly used sales and customer care channels—even if consolidating all data into a single system is not immediately feasible.

Mini-checklist:

• List all channels where customer data is actually stored in practice;

• Identify which data exists outside official systems;

• Review who holds exported files, copies, or personal lists;

• Establish rules for transferring data from chat channels into official systems;

• Set up a data review step when sales or customer service staff leave the company.

A well-designed CRM system is not enough if actual data operations continue to take place outside of it.

Legal reference:

The Law on Personal Data Protection No. 91/2025/QH15 and its guiding framework, particularly provisions on data security, data processing principles, and responsibilities for controlling access, storage, and use of personal data.

CTA:

A practical checklist is available at the following link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qQQPzWPK0sg54a3LbF9uk62xX4wo1DO4/view?usp=sharing

💌 Next Article: Publishing Feedback, Case Studies, Customer Lists: Is Any Personal Data Being Exposed?

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Article: Prepared by LLVN.

Image: LLVN

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