Data protection for SaaS vendors as a processor, legally led
As a B2B SaaS vendor you are usually a processor for your customers' data. Every enterprise customer demands a signed DPA, a sub-processor list and clean transfer evidence before go-live. We deliver the legal data-processing foundation that survives customer redlines and never stalls a deal.
Anyone processing customer data on the customer's behalf is a processor under GDPR Art. 28 and an Auftragsbearbeiter under nFADP Art. 9. This role carries clearly defined duties, and your customers check them before signing.
The typical B2B SaaS contract only works once your data processing is properly set up. An enterprise customer will not put its personal data into your platform before a signed DPA exists. If it is missing or fails the customer's review, the deal stays stuck in procurement.
Processor duties apply regardless of your size. From startup to established ISV the same requirements hold, only the number of contracts and sub-processors scales with every new customer.
A solid DPA under GDPR Art. 28 and nFADP Art. 9 as a standard contract for every customer
An up-to-date sub-processor list with flow-down DPAs to every sub-processor (hosting, email, analytics, AI services)
A processor record of processing activities under Art. 30(2) GDPR
Technical and organisational measures under Art. 32 GDPR, documented and demonstrable
A process to notify the controller of personal-data breaches within 72 hours
SCCs and a transfer-impact assessment for sub-processors outside the EU or Switzerland
How we build your data-processing foundation
We turn the DPA into a sales tool rather than a brake. You get templates and processes you can put in front of every customer, plus a fast negotiation path when a customer redlines.
We draft your DPA as lawyers, tuned to your processing and balanced for the customer side. A balanced template survives most redlines unchanged because it already maps standard clauses cleanly. Where a customer negotiates, we resolve the few open points fast.
For sub-processors we build a maintained list, obtain flow-down DPAs to every sub-processor and set up a change-and-notification process so a new service never enters your processing unnoticed. We keep the Art. 30(2) record and the transfer map in the Priverion Platform, the Swiss data-privacy management software.
For sub-processors outside the EU or Switzerland we prepare the SCCs and a transfer-impact assessment that assesses the legal situation in the destination country and documents the supplementary measures. So the transfer evidence is ready before a customer asks for it.
Speed is part of the mandate. We work to clear response times so a customer DPA never becomes the bottleneck in the sales cycle. Where you want it, we take over the customer negotiation directly in German, French or English.
Why SIDD for your data processing
The DPA is a legal document, not a configuration form. That is exactly where our focus lies, backed by an in-house technical team for the Art. 32 measures.
Legally led
Your DPA is drafted by doctorate-level lawyers with CIPP/E. A lawyer-balanced template survives customer redlines because the clauses hold up legally and are not merely present in form.
Swiss professional secrecy
Where a SIDD lawyer advises in a legal capacity, your information may be covered by professional secrecy under Art. 321 of the Swiss Criminal Code, in addition to contractual confidentiality. We clarify the exact scope per mandate.
Fast enough for sales
We work to clear response times on customer DPAs and redlines. A data-protection point should accelerate your deal, not slow it, and on request we negotiate directly with the customer side.
Audit-ready evidence
We maintain the Art. 30(2) record, the sub-processor list, the measures and the transfer map in the Priverion Platform. If a customer or a regulator asks, the evidence is available as maintained tooling.
From DPA to DPO
You can start with the DPA pack and continue with the same partner as your external data-protection advisor or as your external DPO under GDPR Art. 37. So data protection stays from one source as you grow.
Multilingual & independent
We negotiate customer DPAs in German, French and English, relevant for customers in CH, EU, UK and US. Because we do not sell an in-house SOC, our recommendations on measures and sub-processors stay independent.
Two routes to solid data-processing compliance
DPA & sub-processor pack
Fixed fee
The one-off build of your data-processing foundation, ready to put in front of every enterprise customer.
Lawyer-drafted DPA under GDPR Art. 28 and nFADP Art. 9, redline-proof
Sub-processor list with flow-down DPAs and a change-and-notification process
Art. 30(2) record of processing in the Priverion Platform
SCCs and transfer-impact assessment for sub-processors outside the EU or Switzerland
Template of technical and organisational measures under Art. 32 to attach to the DPA
The ongoing operation: someone who negotiates customer DPAs, maintains the sub-processors and, in case of an incident, drives the 72-hour notification to your customers.
External data-protection advisor under nFADP or external DPO under GDPR Art. 37
Ongoing negotiation of incoming customer DPAs and redlines, in DE, FR or EN
Maintenance of the sub-processor list, record and transfer map in the Priverion Platform
Coordination of personal-data-breach notification to the affected controllers within 72 hours
Point of contact for customer data-protection questions in the vendor security review
LexCMD
Our tool: LexCommand
Why we work with LexCommand, our own Swiss legal AI
LexCommand is our in-house, citation-backed legal AI for the law of Switzerland, Germany, Austria and the EU. Developed and run sovereignly in Switzerland by Priverion GmbH, the company behind SIDD. We do not just preach data sovereignty and provability, we built them into our own tool, alongside the Priverion Platform.
01
Sovereign in Switzerland
The AI runs self-hosted on Swiss infrastructure, with no external cloud LLMs. As an independent Swiss company with no foreign parent, we process your documents in an environment we control.
02
No citation, no claim
Every legal statement traces back to a retrievable primary source, or it does not appear at all. That makes our recommendations auditable and verifiable, instead of merely sounding plausible.
03
From effort to judgement
LexCommand takes over searching, cross-checking and sourcing. That shortens turnaround times and frees our senior advisors for judgement and client dialogue, with no loss of diligence.
04
Three disciplines, one picture
We look at data protection, information security and AI security on a shared source base with a framework crosswalk. So you see overlapping obligations in one consolidated picture, instead of three isolated analyses.
For your DPA and the transfer-impact assessment, concretely, every clause and country assessment is backed by the version of GDPR Art. 28, nFADP Art. 9 and the SCCs valid at your reference date, cited as footnotes and kept cleanly separate by CH and EU, so each sub-processor record stays traceable in a vendor review.
Temporally deterministic (as of today or any reference date), with jurisdiction isolation (CH/DE/AT/EU) and a citation verifier at the end of every answer.
Frequently asked questions
As a SaaS vendor, are we a controller or a processor?
For the customer data in your platform you are usually a processor, because you process it on the customer's behalf and instructions. For your own data such as your employees or marketing you are a controller. We delineate the roles case by case so the DPA covers the right processing.
Is a single standard DPA enough for all our customers?
In most cases yes. A lawyer-balanced template covers the standard market requirements and survives most redlines unchanged. If a large customer insists on its own paper, we review and negotiate it for you so you do not sign untenable clauses.
How fast does a customer DPA get negotiated?
We work to clear response times so the DPA never becomes the bottleneck in the sales cycle. With a good standard template most DPAs are signature-ready quickly, because only a few open points remain. We fix the concrete deadlines in the mandate.
What happens in a personal-data breach?
As a processor you notify a breach to the controller, that is your customer, without undue delay, in practice oriented to a 72-hour logic. We set up the notification process and templates in advance and, in a real case, drive the communication to your customers. We do not run an in-house incident-response team or SOC, here we work together with your technical functions or partners.
Do we need anything special for our US or UK sub-processors?
For sub-processors outside the EU or Switzerland you need a suitable transfer basis, usually SCCs with a transfer-impact assessment that assesses the legal situation in the destination country and supplementary measures. For the United Kingdom we use the matching mechanisms. We prepare this evidence and keep it current.
Can you negotiate the DPA in French and English too?
Yes. We draft and negotiate customer DPAs throughout in German, French and English, relevant for customers in Switzerland, the EU, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Matching next steps
Your data-processing foundation ties closely to representation and data residency:
Ready for a DPA that wins deals instead of blocking them?
We build your data-processing foundation: a lawyer-drafted DPA, sub-processor governance, the record and transfer evidence, ready for every enterprise customer.
