Data Protection Officer as a Service

Introducing Oxford Infosec

Oxford Infosec is a UK privacy and security focused consultancy whose DPOs work in data-protection roles and hold recognised professional credentials (CIPP/E, CIPM).

Our approach is pragmatic and risk-based, designed specifically for small, fast-moving organisations, so every control we recommend is proportionate to the real-world risk and ICO expectations. We pair this expertise with the Drata compliance-automation platform, giving customers continuous evidence collection and live dashboards instead of periodic checklists.

Governance is clear: the named DPO reports directly to the customer’s top management and operates independently, ensuring objective advice and full accountability.

What Problems Do We Solve?

Organisations that handle EU/UK personal data must comply with the UK GDPR and EU GDPR and, in some cases, formally appoint a Data Protection Officer.

Typical pain-points for lean teams are:

Challenge	Consequence
No internal privacy specialist	Uncertain interpretation of GDPR articles; inconsistent ad-hoc decisions
Limited capacity to maintain records of processing, Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), or respond to data subject requests	Missed statutory deadlines; risk of complaints or ICO fines
No formal process for handling data breaches	Delayed reporting, higher regulatory penalties, reputational damage
Customer assurance questionnaires on privacy & security	Slower sales and procurement cycles
Need for independent oversight	Developers or founders marking their own homework, reducing objectivity

This service provides an outsourced, named Data Protection Officer who fulfils the organisation-wide duties set out in Article 39 of the UK GDPR and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) guidance. It is intended for organisations that are required (or choose voluntarily) to appoint a DPO but prefer to contract an external specialist.

Fit for Small and Medium‑Sized Businesses

Our methodology recognises that many of our customers operate with limited headcount and constrained budgets. We therefore tailor each control and deliverable to the organisation’s size, complexity and risk profile, in line with the ICO’s guidance that smaller organisations will "benefit from a smaller‑scale approach to accountability" and that "accountability is not about ticking boxes – there isn’t a one‑size‑fits‑all approach".

• Proportionate controls – policies and records are concise and mapped to real processing activities; we avoid generating unnecessary paperwork.

• Resource‑aware scheduling – audits, training and evidence updates are timed to coincide with existing reporting cycles to minimise disruption.

• Leverage existing tooling – wherever possible we configure Drata to collect evidence automatically from the systems you already use, rather than imposing new platforms.

• Risk‑based prioritisation – recommendations are ordered by potential regulatory impact and effort required, enabling gradual uplift when resources allow.

• Plain‑English advice – guidance focuses on what the organisation must do to remain compliant and feasible ‘good practice’ steps; any optional enhancements are clearly labelled.

Named Practitioner

Role	Example Professional Qualifications
Lead DPO	CIPP/E – Certified Information Privacy Professional/Europe CIPM – Certified Information Privacy Manager

The individual operates independently, reports to the customer’s highest management level and may not be instructed to act contrary to data protection law, in line with ICO expectations for DPO independence and reporting lines.

Drata Compliance Automation Platform

The service includes Drata, a cloud-based compliance automation platform that serves as the “engine room” for day-to-day GDPR housekeeping.

Once connected to your existing tools (e.g. AWS, Google Workspace, GitHub etc), it continuously collects evidence that key privacy and security controls are operating, maintains your policy documents, and displays progress on a live GDPR-readiness dashboard. The platform automatically raises tasks, like policy reviews, vendor re-assessments or staff-training refreshers, assigns them to the right people with due dates, and preserves an auditable trail for the ICO.