Arrka’s Story
Data Privacy is complicated. It evolves by the day. Expertise required is multifaceted – of which there is acute paucity. Yet, to stay in business, every organisation has to implement Data Privacy – now or eventually.
Arrka aims to empower every organization to implement Data Privacy. Whatever their size or budget.
The Genesis
Our founders, Sameer & Shivangi, founded Arrka after spending more than a decade each in corporate jobs engaging with large organizations in their Cybersecurity & Risk journeys. The one thing they realised while doing this was that there was an acute scarcity of expertise in these domains. Consequently, this scarce set of experts naturally gravitated towards the large enterprises or the government – entities who could afford them. However, as the world became increasingly digital, associated cyber risks began emerging and impacting ALL organizations, not just the large ones.
When the entrepreneurial bug bit and they set up Arrka, the duo decided to make this their mission – to equip ALL organizations, irrespective of size, to deal with Cyber Risks. And they picked two areas of Cyber Risks to focus on: Data Privacy & Cyber Security.
To translate the above into reality, they set out three objectives for Arrka:
1) SIMPLIFY
2) AUTOMATE
3) Provide ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE
In a conversation with a friend, they once articulated their thoughts as:
We all know that today’s cars are powerful, with extremely sophisticated design, engineering, technology and manufacturing backed by a large ecosystem of players.
Yet.. when someone drives the car, she only focuses on getting from Point A to B in a smooth, efficient and safe manner – without having to focus on how the car really works. All those complexities are tucked under the hood, humming away quietly in the background.
Why can’t organizations have a similar experience when it comes to Data Privacy & Cyber Security? Why can’t they remain focused on driving their own businesses ahead instead of worrying about how to make their Data Privacy & Cybersecurity programs - with their hundreds of moving parks - work? The reality today for organizations is that they have to find and hire the equivalent of automobile experts who would know what parts to gather, how to put them together, build the car and keep it in a working condition - so that it can be driven.
Why? How can this sustain? Especially in a highly digital world where every single organization, big or tiny, needs to ensure they take care of Data Privacy & CyberSecurity if they have to stay in business.
The Journey
With the above mission clearly mapped out, the two rolled up their sleeves and got to work. Along the way, they were joined by other like-minded folks who shared the lofty dream. Working with a variety of organizations of different sizes across multiple sectors, understanding their challenges and working with them to address them gave the team the insights they needed to chip away at their dream. Slowly, the initial contours of the design of the Arrka platform emerged.
The real power of the platform, which is in the underlying content frameworks – that weave the myriad ‘capsules of knowledge’ into actionable and enable them to remain updated with the rapidly and continually changing environment – took a couple of years to be designed and built. After all, this was (and is!) unchartered territory with no examples or benchmarks for the team to consider.
In the process, responding to their clients’ requirements, Arrka Lab and Arrkademy also got established. Arrka Lab introduced the concept of Privacy Testing to India and started conducting and publishing the much sought-after Annual Privacy Study. In parallel, the lab kept (and keep) developing Arrka’s core methodologies and frameworks as well – responding to client needs as and when they came up. Meanwhile, Arrkademy has gone on to become the definitive Privacy focused learning platform in India, contributing to building the pool of much-needed privacy experts that India so urgently needs.
Being pioneers in Data Privacy in their geography of initial focus – India – Arrka has also been contributing in many ways to the emerging data privacy landscape in India and is looked upon as the thought leader in its chosen area of expertise: Operationalising & Implementing Privacy in organizations.
Today, with a Privacy Management Platform that SIMPLIFIES, AUTOMATES and provides ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE on tap complemented by Arrka Lab and Arrkademy, Arrka empowers organizations to confidently forge ahead with their Data Privacy programs with minimal dependence on expensive expertise and budgetary outlays.
Goal 1: Automate
We use the power of data, AI & ML to make it easy for anyone to implement and manage their Data Privacy Programs
Goal 2: Simplify
We assimilate and digest all the complexities an organisation faces with Data Privacy, push them ‘under the hood’ and offer a simple-to-use solution
Goal 3: Actionable Intelligence
We collate all applicable data & intelligence. Add on the expertise derived from experience. Harness it all via AI. Make it all available as Actionable Intelligence that is available on tap.
The force behind Arrka.
