Last week saw an unusual spring heatwave up and down the UK. This made for a pleasant journey from Newcastle to London on Tuesday for the IAPP Data Protection Intensive: UK 2022. Our train departed in the afternoon and arrived in London just in time for tea, although I think it’s known as dinner in that neck of the woods. It made a nice change to travel to an event by train instead of by car, even if it did mean getting our laptops out and working for most of the journey.
Opting for Roll-up banners for our exhibition stand made setting up a doddle, although carting them from Kings Cross to Liverpool Street wasn’t quite so easy and we did garner a few suspicious glances as the cases made us look like we were carrying sniper rifles rather than an exhibition stand. We felt very 007 as we passed the Gherkin.
We signed up for the IAPP a little late, which meant we didn’t get the best pitch. We were tucked away in the back corner, but fortunately for us, our banners were big enough and eye-catching enough that they attracted people to our stand.
Our space was limited but we wanted to include a small interactive feature. We didn’t want anything all singing and dancing—just an iPad playing a short demo of our data management software, Deepeo. We tried to seduce people with chocolate, but the food served by the organisers so was so delicious that our little choccies didn’t even get a look in.
Doors opened at 9 am, and it wasn’t long before data professionals filled the hall. For many of the attendees, it was their first event in over two years. People were enthusiastic to have this kind of interaction once again and a there was a constant buzz of energy across the hall.
Among the attendees were data protection officers, data security/privacy specialists, legal teams and HR. The feedback we received for Deepeo was positive. People were particularly interested in Deepeo’s robust bulk deletion function—its ability perform housekeeping tasks across hundreds of databases to manage data deletion according to your company’s retention policies. It seems to be a tool that organisations genuinely need.
One of my biggest regrets from our last event was that I didn’t wear my most comfortable shoes. This time, I was prepared. I wore the most comfortable pair of shoes I could find—my Chelsea boots. They did the job, but they were backed up by some very comfortable courtesy of the venue.
It would be remiss of me not to give a huge shout out to the event organisers and the catering staff. They did such an amazing job of ensuring everything ran well and keeping us all fed and watered.
We are definitely looking forward to the IAPP 2023!
