Benchmarking

The practice of comparing your organization's performance, processes, or practices against industry standards or competitors. In privacy contexts, benchmarking often involves analyzing aggregated or anonymized data to understand market trends, customer behavior patterns, or operational metrics relative to peers. Privacy considerations arise when benchmarking uses personal data—even if ultimately analyzed in aggregate. The personal data used for benchmarking requires lawful basis, typically legitimate interests or contractual necessity. Organizations must be transparent about benchmarking activities, ensure data is appropriately protected during analysis, and ideally use anonymized or aggregated data. Benchmarking services that combine data from multiple companies create data processor relationships requiring appropriate agreements. When third parties conduct benchmarking using your data, ensure contracts specify proper handling and prohibit re-identification of individuals.