Laura Beaudin, a partner with Bain & Company, said that companies faced uncertainty right before GDPR.

“I think frankly it was difficult, to be able to find critical mass in those kinds of specialists,” she said.

Companies felt that there wasn’t clear precedent. They weren’t sure how regulators would draw the lines around information privacy issues. However, Beaudin sees an opportunity amid the controversy.

“We’ve looked at how consumers feel about their data being out there,” she said. “There’s less sensitivity if a brand can demonstrate that the reason that they’re looking for that information, or the reason that they’re sitting on that information, and acting on that information is to be able to provide consumers with a better experience.”