The world is awash with statistics about the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and depending on who you believe companies are either completely ready (this study says 72 per cent of global businesses are confident of compliance); or there is still a large portion of companies who will not achieve compliance in time (Forrester suggests only just under 25 per cent of European firms are compliant). If your day job is looking after data, such statistics are probably leading to fatigue rather than helping, as you are perfectly aware of the implications for the personal data (PD) held by your organisation. It is difficult to estimate how much PD is stored on databases – I saw one estimate recentlythat suggested 70 – 80 per cent of information on databases is PD - but for database administrators (DBAs) GDPR puts your role under the spotlight like never before; I have already highlighted the basic challenges that DBAs face, but I also believe this new regulation should be celebrated as a great opportunity to raise your profile and the role of the DBA.