Osano’s Values: Who We Work With and Why

Ask any SaaS-based business why they do what they do, and the answer isn’t going to be “to sell software.” Sure, providing software solutions is what they do, but why they do it is going to be something different every time. SaaS businesses provide software to solve problems—and whatever problem they set out to solve affects every aspect of their operations, from hiring to branding, partnerships, product strategy, and more. 

Osano is no different in this regard. We set out to make it easier for businesses to increase trust with their customers, stay compliant with regulations, and do the right thing by respecting data privacy rights. That mission informs every aspect of our organization—especially when it comes to which organizations we choose to work with, whether as a customer, vendor, or partner. 

While we spend a lot of time immersing our team in Osano’s values and culture, we realized that our values and their impact on Osano’s strategy may not be obvious to others. In this post, we’ll break down those values and explain how they impact the external parties we work with. 

Our Values 

Before we can talk about how Osano’s values inform our work, we need to explain what those values are first and why they’re important to our mission. Osano holds four values in high esteem: 

• Bold Action: Keeping companies compliant with the latest data privacy laws requires the ability to move quickly without holding back. We strive to go against the grain while ensuring data privacy is accessible to all.   
• Authenticity & Inclusion: Data privacy doesn't exist in a bubble, and neither do we. Everyone is impacted by data privacy regulations, not just a select few. We understand the importance of having diverse skills, backgrounds, and mindsets to create a truly inclusive product that is authentic to ourselves, our customers, partners, vendors, and the world at large. 
• Operational Excellence: Efficiency is key to creating solutions that minimize risk and complexity, especially when it comes to organizing your data and becoming compliant with new privacy laws. To stay on top of our ever-changing industry, we must be dependable, organized, and collaborative. 
• Delightful Experience: Trust is a core tenet of data privacy. We recognize that in order to establish trust with others, we must do the work to establish trust via delightful experiences that go above and beyond what's expected. We believe every touch along the journey is an opportunity to have a lasting, positive impact. 

Walking the Walk 

Embracing these values has led Osano to become something of a unique company, both in the data privacy space and the world at large. Notably, Osano is both a B-Corp and a Public Benefit Corporation. 

We took the bold action of becoming the first data privacy company to become a B-Corp. In order to meet B-Corp standards and authentically represent the audience we wished to serve, we’ve hired a diverse and inclusive range of human beings.  

Moreover, being a B-Corp doesn’t just mean paying lip service to one’s ideals; it takes real work and commitment to attain and keep this status. Osano needs to meet certain standards of social and environmental performance and must demonstrate that we’ve upheld these standards over time—otherwise, we can’t call ourselves a B-Corp anymore. 

To that end, we’re very proactive about meeting the standards that our ideals and organizations like B Lab have set for us. It’s not a matter of simply “not doing anything wrong”; we strive to actively do good for our communities, our employees, and the world. Part of that means picking the right people to work with—whether as customers, vendors, or partners. 

What This Means for the People and Organizations We Work With 

For Customers 

One of the benefits of the Osano Platform is that it can’t really be used in an unethical way. We’re always thrilled to work with new businesses because it means we can spread our mission of protecting data privacy rights. To that end, our values mainly inform how we work with our customers, rather than who those customers are. 

We believe customer support and implementation, customer success, and training and enablement are essential. The Osano Platform is very easy to use and implement, but there are always edge cases, and everybody needs some guidance from time to time regardless of how straightforward a tool is to use. That’s why our support team is always on standby, and the platform features multiple consultative capabilities, including our Ask an Expert feature. 

In the past, we have chosen not to work with certain organizations, but only when it would be antithetical to our mission to do so. We don’t want to support companies that earn a profit by violating others’ data privacy rights, whether that’s indiscriminately collecting personal data en masse, brokering personal information for shady organizations, or any other flagrant violation of privacy rights. 

Our values also mean providing education on all things data privacy. If you’re looking to become more informed on data privacy issues, check out: 

• Our newsletter, Privacy Insider, which goes out every Thursday and curates important data privacy stories from the week as well as new resources from Osano. 
• Our Resource Center, which contains the latest webinars, guides, and other content released by the Osano team. 
• A demo, where you can ask all of your most pressing data privacy questions with a live expert and see how the Osano Platform can help. 

For Vendors 

Today, no SaaS business can be considered an island. Every organization in this industry has dozens of vendors supporting various functions from payroll to marketing, sales, operations, and beyond. The same is true of Osano. 

How we are different is that we spend a lot of time evaluating and assessing our vendors—not only for their value and effectiveness, but also for privacy risk and mission alignment. 

If you spend any amount of time diving into privacy risk management, then you know that vendor assessments are a must. That’s part of why we’ve spent so much time building out the Vendor Privacy Risk Management and Assessments tools in the Osano Platform. When we look for vendors to work with, we use those same tools that we provide to our customers, starting with the Osano Privacy Score. The Privacy Score is a 163-item ontology based on a mix of expert review and machine learning to quantify different vendors’ privacy risk. The higher the score, the better. 

Whenever possible, we like to work with vendors who are also B-Corps and/or Public Benefit Corporations. That way, we can rest assured that our systems and data are in the hands of organizations who have demonstrated commitment to the betterment of our society. 

The Osano vendor database contains over 11,000 vendors, so there’s a good chance that your organization is included in it. If you notice that your privacy score is low, we’d be happy to provide suggestions. Or, you may notice that your organization isn’t represented in our vendor database. In either case, you can contact us for actionable advice on improving your score or for inclusion in the database. 

For Partners 

Partners are a force-multiplier, and when your organization is mission-driven in the way Osano is, they’re a must-have. Working with great partners allows us to reach new audiences eager to do the right thing by their customers but who are at a loss as to how to operationalize data privacy compliance. 

In partners, we look for organizations who share similar values and mission—again, that often means fellow B-Corps and Public Benefit Corporations, but one doesn’t have to meet those criteria to have a positive impact. 

Often, we work with law firms, consultancies, and other organizations who provide invaluable advice to their clients and customers on how best to implement a data privacy program. Compliance and security businesses enjoy partnering with Osano as well, as we can help round out their offering with our expertise in privacy. And while these organizations are a natural fit for partnering with Osano, we’re always open to creative ideas for collaboration! 

If you think your organization might fit the bill, check out these resources: 

• Our Partners & Resellers page, where you can find all the details on why and how to join the Osano Partner Program. 
• Our Data Licensing page, where you can request to incorporate our database of over 11,000 vendors into your own application via API. 

No matter whether you’re a potential partner, vendor, or customer, we’re always eager to hear from you and answer questions about how Osano can help. Feel free to contact us or book a demo, and we’ll get in touch soon!