How Compliance Made a Grocery Store Compete with AWS

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We tend to think of cloud computing as a tool for tech companies and startups, but even brick and mortar stores need to keep their customer data somewhere. And for most that data might be stored with Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform.

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The public cloud didn’t offer enough protection for Europe’s largest retailer – Lidl – so it built an in-house cloud hosting and cybersecurity platform. Without intending to, Lidl created an in-demand product now used by the likes of SAP with revenues of €1.9 billion.

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Lidl vs. AWS

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When Lidl originally searched for a public cloud vendor it sought to keep its sensitive customer data in Germany, where its headquarters is based. When that proved impossible, it settled for storing its data exclusively within Europe. When it learned even that wouldn’t be possible in the public cloud, it decided to build its own service. The IT unit is now its own company, called Schwarz Digits.

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Today Schwarz Digits stores all of its customer’s data in Germany or Austria. Both companies have extensive privacy and data protection laws, creating peace of mind for Lidl and its customers alike. Many European companies, it turns out, were also concerned about storing proprietary data outside the continent. The need for compliance and data security above and beyond what the public cloud offered induced an entirely new cloud host. Again, spun out of a grocery store.

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When Compliance Guides IT

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To be sure, customers probably aren’t choosing Lidl over Aldi for their milk and pasta specifically because of their data storage policies. But the creation of Schwarz Digits speaks to a universal truth: customers – whether in B2C or B2B – care deeply that their personal information is stored safely when they share it with vendors. B2B companies also care about compliance because it supports long-term sustainability; they hope you can be resilient in the face of a data breach, for example.

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For businesses selling to other businesses, signaling compliance goes a long way. It’s much easier for a prospective client to choose you because of your signaled compliance controls than to have to ask about them midway through a deal cycle.

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American companies have adopted SOC 2 Type I and Type II certifications to demonstrate robust security and data management policies to customers and other stakeholders.

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Koop’s customer assurance platform helps tech companies seamlessly navigate the complexities of business insurance, regulatory compliance, and security automation in one place.

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‍We provide a comprehensive suite of insurance coverage that includes General Liability, Technology Errors & Omissions, Cyber Liability, and Management Liability coupled with the most cost-effective SOC 2 compliance certification on the market.

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‍Ready to learn more? Visit our website at https://www.koop.ai or drop us a note at hello@koop.ai.