# Modernizing the privacy tech stack

## Introduction

As a life-saving medical technology supplier,  
Dexcom understands the need to work fast  
and innovate. Privacy counsel **Eric Lovell** &  
**Sean Kellogg** have transformed data privacy  
into business value—saving the business  
thousands of hours of manual work along the  
way—by championing automated solutions  
cusomized for their complex regulatory  
landscape.

## Scaling to support growth

With Dexcom’s previous privacy management  
software, fulfilling Data Subject Requests  
(DSRs) was highly manual and time consuming.  
Request management was not centralized and  
the privacy team had to work across many  
programs to understand the status of a  
request. Dexcom’s privacy team wanted to be  
able to allot more time for **proactive**  
**reporting and risk mitigation.**

!

**DataGrail user since:** 2020  
**Industry:** Med tech  
Data Privacy Hero Award Winner

Before 2020, Dexcom’s privacy program was  
getting by, but Privacy Counsel Lead Eric Lovell  
knew their privacy program couldn’t keep up  
with Dexcom’s upcoming exponential growth.

Dexcom selected DataGrail as a new privacy  
partner for several key reasons:

1. Automated request tracking in an  
   intuitive centralized UI

2. Informative built-in email alerts  
   throughout the request lifecycle

3. Access to the comprehensive DataGrail  
   API to build highly customized  
   automations

Just by changing solutions and taking  
dadvantage of the DataGrail Integration Network,  
Dexcom was able to process requests **3 times**  
**faster** than they had previously.

---

“Every minute a department spends on a privacy  
request, they could have spent on our  
life-saving technology. We needed a solution  
that would allow us to operate as efficiently as  
possible.

!  
**Eric Lovell,** Lead Privacy Counsel

## Embracing automation every step of the way

While they were already processing requests  
much faster, Lovell and Kellogg knew that  
between the company’s rapid growth and the  
country’s increasingly complex privacy  
regulation, especially concerning medical data,  
there was more work to be done.

First, Dexcom partnered with DataGrail on  
**Managed Services**, leveraging DataGrail’s  
expertise to complete requests an additional  
10% faster, and reducing the staff required to  
process requests down by an additional 2.

Kellogg next partnered with Dexcom’s robotics  
team to build a customized bot using  
**DataGrail’s API**. The approach was mutually  
beneficial, ultimately saving Engineering time  
while also eliminating risk of human error and  
further securing compliance.

The bespoke bot could navigate complex  
internal databases and classify data to make  
appropriate data deletion decisions the  
company could trust and monitor. The solution  
**saved Dexcom an additional 800-1,200**  
**hours** per month across 3 different teams.  
With these exponential time savings, the  
business’ compliance is protected against any  
sudden increases in request volume.  
!

“DataGrail Managed Services has been a game  
changer for us. Our overall efficiency in  
responding has increased and all of our  
metrics are on the rise.”

!  
**Sean Kellogg,** Privacy Counsel

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## Key Takeaways

Lovell and Kellogg share a few tips for privacy  
teams seeking similar outcomes:

First, Kellogg ties his work back to Dexcom’s  
overall cultural emphasis on innovation.

**Driving privacy back to a business value**  
helped secure buy-in for major initiatives. He  
also stresses the value of finding a privacy  
partner flexible enough to collaborate with on  
your unique organizational needs.

Second, Kellogg acknowledges that taking the  
time to be truly empathetic of his colleagues  
allowed Dexcom’s privacy program to become  
more effective over time. By noticing and  
**taking the initiative to address strain**  
experienced by other teams, Kellogg built  
relationships he could call upon for other  
privacy initiatives across the business.

Lastly and importantly, Lovell advises the value  
of investing in technical solutions to **free up**  
**human time for more strategic pursuits**.  
With so much time spared and confidence in  
the results of automation, Dexcom can more  
proactively address emerging privacy topics  
such as AI governance and beyond.

Dexcom was recognized as The Innovator in  
the <u>2024 Data Privacy Hero Awards</u>.

"DataGrail is more than just a  
product. They’re true partners  
in our privacy program we  
can collaborate with to meet  
our goals."

**Jeff Dunifon,**

## Jeff Dunifon, taking the initiative to address strain

Sr. Director, Privacy & Data Security Counsel

!