The judgement of a DPO. The reach of a platform.
A named, accredited Data Protection Officer — backed by the same monitoring, document analysis and risk engine that powers the rest of Praeferre — for a fraction of the cost of an in-house hire. Human oversight where it matters, machine-scale coverage everywhere else, and a working relationship your team will actually enjoy.
Not appointing a DPO isn't a grey area — it's an infringement
Under GDPR Article 37, a DPO is mandatory for public authorities, organisations that monitor individuals systematically at scale, or that process special category data at scale — and the assessment of whether you meet that bar is itself something regulators expect you to have documented, whether or not you conclude you need one. Getting the call wrong, or getting the role wrong once you've made it, is its own infringement.
Failing to appoint a required DPO, appointing one without real independence, or failing to publish their contact details are all separately sanctionable under GDPR's lower fine tier.
Fined by the Polish DPA for improper DPO positioning and insufficient independence — a reminder that appointing someone isn't the same as appointing them correctly.
Fined after running a "Data Protection Committee" instead of a formally designated DPO — the regulator ruled that informal oversight structures don't satisfy Article 37.
Sources: Recording Law, on GDPR Article 37 enforcement · Legiscope, on the Toyota Bank Polska decision · EDPO, on the Glovo decision.
Being "responsible" for data protection is a specific, legal job
Under GDPR Article 39, a DPO's duties aren't a vague sense of ownership — they're six defined tasks. If the person your organisation points to as accountable couldn't list these, the responsibility is still silent, whatever their job title says.
Inform and advise
Tell the organisation and its staff what their data protection obligations actually are — before decisions are made, not after.
Monitor compliance
Track adherence to GDPR and internal policy, including staff training, awareness, and audits — on an ongoing basis, not a yearly tick-box.
Advise on DPIAs
Provide advice when requested on Data Protection Impact Assessments, and monitor how they're carried out once raised.
Cooperate with the regulator
Act as the organisation's working relationship with the supervisory authority — not just a name on a form.
Be the contact point
Handle enquiries from the supervisory authority and from data subjects exercising their rights, including subject access requests.
Lead breach response
Coordinate the assessment and, where required, the regulator notification within 72 hours of becoming aware of a personal data breach.
The silent-responsibility trap: regulators have fined organisations not for lacking a DPO in name, but for one with no real independence, no resourcing, or no clear mandate to act on these six tasks. A title without the authority — or the awareness — to fulfil it satisfies nobody, least of all a supervisory authority asking questions after the fact.
One senior hire, or one accountable partner
An in-house DPO is a real commitment — salary, benefits, recruitment, and the risk of a bad hire in a role where independence and expertise both matter. Here's how the two paths actually compare.
- Plus National Insurance, benefits and pension — typically another 15–25%
- 3–6 months of recruitment time before they even start
- One person's capacity — no bench strength if they're on leave
- Ongoing training cost to keep pace with evolving regulation
- Full-time presence embedded in your organisation
- A named, accredited DPO — not a support queue
- Backed by the Praeferre platform — GRC, DLP and vendor risk data feed every decision
- Statutory independence built in — no internal conflict-of-interest risk
- Live from week one — no recruitment cycle
- Scale up to a full internal team later — we'll help you hire when you're ready
Average London DPO salary — before recruitment fees, benefits, and the months it typically takes to find and onboard the right person.
Typical hiring timeline for a qualified DPO — time your organisation spends exposed if the role sits vacant or is filled informally in the meantime.
Organisations surveyed in the EDPB's coordinated enforcement review of DPO designation — which found insufficient resourcing and independence as recurring, sanctionable failures.
Sources: Glassdoor, London DPO salaries, 2026 · Legiscope, on the EDPB's coordinated enforcement report.
Your DPO doesn't work from a spreadsheet — they work from the platform
A DPO is only as good as the visibility they have. Praeferre's DPO-as-a-Service team isn't bolted on top of your compliance programme — they sit inside the same platform monitoring your GRC posture, your AI usage, and your vendor risk, so every recommendation is grounded in current evidence, not a quarterly snapshot.
- Same evidence base as your GRC, DLP and vendor risk modules
- Decisions and reasoning logged automatically — always audit-ready
- A relationship, not a ticketing queue — the same DPO, every time
We'll help you find the right person, not just any person
DPO as a Service isn't a permanent substitute for every organisation — some will grow into needing an in-house team. When you're ready to make that hire, Praeferre can source and screen qualified candidates against the same independence and expertise standards regulators expect, so you're not learning what "qualified" means the hard way.
- Candidates screened for genuine independence, not just a CV keyword match
- Handover support so your new hire inherits a working platform, not a blank slate
- No cliff-edge — Praeferre can stay on as a hybrid or fully step back
The real comparison isn't cost. It's cost against risk.
A rough picture for a mid-sized organisation weighing an in-house hire against DPO as a Service.
Figures reflect published UK salary benchmarks (Glassdoor, 2026) and fractional DPO market pricing (Engage Compliance, 2026). Actual Praeferre pricing depends on organisation size and complexity — book a call for a tailored quote.
Get a named DPO working for you this month
Whether you need full DPO cover now or just want help sourcing your first in-house hire, a short call is enough to map the right path for your organisation.