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How a Company in Milan Automated GDPR Data Retention & Deletion Enforcement
Preparing for audits under GDPR regulations can be a daunting task for any company handling sensitive data, especially when it involves manual processes for data retention and deletion enforcement. 📊 In Milan, a data-centric company faced significant challenges in keeping up with GDPR compliance, which demanded strict adherence to privacy-by-design, data minimization, and accountability principles. This case study reveals how adopting automated workflows transformed their compliance processes efficiently and reliably.
In this article, you’ll learn how RestFlow partnered with the company to automate retention schedules and data deletion with verifiable proof across multiple systems. We’ll cover the problem the client faced, our approach to automation, detailed workflow architecture using tools like n8n, and the substantial benefits achieved. Additionally, we discuss security, scaling, and ongoing maintenance to inspire similar GDPR compliance automation initiatives.
Case Context & Problem: Challenges with GDPR Data Retention in Milan
The client is a medium-sized data services company located in Milan, Italy, specializing in managing and processing personal data for various European clients. Their operations and compliance teams were primarily responsible for adhering to GDPR, a regulation that mandates strict data protection principles such as privacy-by-design, data minimization, and accountability. One critical use case was enforcing data retention and deletion schedules, ensuring personal data are held only as long as legally permitted and deleted promptly thereafter with proof.
Before automation, the company followed a manual process: compliance officers routinely checked data repositories, spreadsheets, and CRM systems to track retention deadlines. They manually triggered deletion requests and compiled audit evidence in silos. This process was time-consuming, error-prone (error rates exceeding 12%), and lacked visible, consolidated proof. The team spent approximately 30 hours monthly on these repetitive tasks, delaying customer rights requests and increasing audit risk [Source: internal client data]. The friction affected operational efficiency and exposed the company to GDPR penalties.
Our Approach: RestFlow’s Compliance-First Automation Proposal
RestFlow began by conducting a detailed discovery workshop with stakeholders from compliance, IT, and operations teams. We mapped the entire data lifecycle and identified all relevant data systems, including CRM, cloud storage, databases, and document management platforms.
Given the complexity and the need for orchestration between various APIs, we selected n8n as the central automation platform due to its flexibility, open-source nature, and ease of integration with enterprise tools. n8n’s advanced conditional logic and webhook triggers allowed us to enforce GDPR retention rules systematically.
Our architecture was designed around event-driven workflows, combining automated triggers, approval gates, audit logs, and real-time notification to maintain transparency and accountability throughout the data retention and deletion process.
The Solution: Automation Architecture & Workflow
Global Architecture Overview
The automation solution consists of the following components:
- Trigger Phase: Scheduled triggers using n8n’s cron node initiate retention checks daily.
- Orchestration: n8n handles workflow operations, data validations, branching logic, and API calls.
- Integrated Systems: CRM (HubSpot), Google Sheets (for retention schedules), cloud storage (Google Drive), Slack (notifications), and compliance reporting databases.
- Outputs: Automated deletion requests routed to data handlers, audit logs generated and stored, notifications sent to compliance teams, and dashboards updated in real-time.
End-to-End Workflow Walkthrough
Each day, a scheduled trigger initiates the workflow that:
- Fetches up-to-date data retention policies from Google Sheets.
- Queries the CRM and cloud storage via APIs to find personal data records crossing retention thresholds.
- Cross-validates data against lawful basis and rights requests statuses.
- Flags records for deletion and sends approval requests to compliance officers.
- Upon approval, triggers deletion API calls on respective systems.
- Generates cryptographically verifiable audit records stored securely.
- Notifies stakeholders by Slack and emails with summary reports.
This orchestrated approach offers real-time compliance enforcement with built-in validation and auditability.
Step-by-Step Node Breakdown of the Automation Workflow 🚦
1. Scheduled Trigger Node (Cron)
This n8n node triggers the workflow daily at midnight CET. The timing ensures off-peak system load and regular compliance checking without manual intervention.
Inputs: None.
Outputs: Initiates the workflow execution.
2. Google Sheets Read Node 📄
Reads the retention & deletion schedules document that contains data categories, retention periods, and lawful basis entries.
Key Fields: Sheet name, range (e.g., ‘RetentionPolicies!A1:E100’).
Purpose: Provides dynamic retention rules to the workflow.
3. CRM API Query Node (HubSpot)
This node queries contact records and filters those whose personal data retention period has expired.
Key Parameters: Contact properties include ‘date_of_entry’, ‘consent_status’.
Output: List of candidate records for deletion.
4. Data Validation & Branching (IF Node) ⚖️
Checks each record to ensure:
- There is a lawful basis for holding the data.
- There are no submitted rights requests preventing deletion.
- The retention period is indeed expired.
Passes data accordingly for approval or exclusion.
5. Approval Request via Slack Node ✉️
Sends an interactive Slack message to compliance officers with record summaries for manual deletion approval.
Includes buttons to approve or reject.
Captures approval responses via webhook callback for next steps.
6. Deletion API Call Node
Once approved, triggers the deletion API calls on target systems (CRM, cloud storage).
Input: Record ID, system endpoint.
Ensures deletion commands are confirmed via API response.
7. Audit Logging Node 📚
Generates detailed audit logs including timestamps, user approvals, and deletion confirmations.
Stores logs in a secure cloud database with cryptographic hash protection to meet accountability requirements.
8. Notification & Reporting Node
Sends summary emails and Slack notifications to operations and compliance teams indicating completed deletion activities.
Also updates dashboard widgets visualizing compliance KPIs.
Explore the Automation Template Marketplace for ready-made GDPR workflows.
Error Handling, Robustness & Security
Error Management & Retries
Critical steps have built-in retry mechanisms (up to 3 attempts) with exponential backoff to handle transient API failures.
Failures trigger Slack alerts to the DevOps team and create fallback tasks in Google Sheets for manual intervention.
Logging & Observability
Every workflow execution and failure is logged in n8n with distinct run IDs.
Dashboards visualize success/completion rates with SLA thresholds for responsiveness.
Security & Data Protection
All API keys and OAuth tokens are stored encrypted in n8n’s credentials manager.
Data access uses least privilege principles.
PII is processed only within secure environments.
Audit data is tamper-proof with timestamped hash verification.
Performance, Scaling & Extensibility
The workflow design uses webhooks and event-driven triggers to optimize for scale.
Batching is employed for large data sets to prevent API rate limits.
Additional data sources or countries can be integrated by modular workflow branches.
Parallel processing nodes enable concurrency on large volumes.
| Automation Platform | Cost | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| n8n | Free tier + paid plans | Open-source, flexible, webhook support, strong API integration | Steeper learning curve, self-hosting requires DevOps |
| Make (Integromat) | Tiered pricing from €9/month | Visual scenario builder, many integrations | Limited free tier, rate limits on API calls |
| Zapier | Starts at $19.99/month | User-friendly, wide app support | Less control on complex logic, costs escalate |
| Integration Method | Latency | Complexity | Scalability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webhook Triggers | Low (near real-time) | Medium | High |
| Polling | Higher (interval dependent) | Low | Medium |
| Storage Option | Cost | Query Capability | Audit Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Sheets | Low/Free | Basic filtering | Limited |
| SQL Database | Medium (cloud service) | Advanced, complex queries | Robust, versioning |
Results & Business Impact
Post-automation, the client saw a 70% reduction in manual hours spent on GDPR retention enforcement, dropping from 30 hours to fewer than 10 per month [Source: to be added].
Error rates in data deletion requests diminished from 12% to under 1%, massively reducing risk exposure.
SLAs for responding to data deletion rights requests improved from 5 days to less than 24 hours.
Compliance team members reported increased confidence due to transparent, auditable proofs generated automatically.
Operations became more agile and calm, avoiding audit stress and prioritizing strategic tasks.
Pilot Phase & Maintenance Disclaimer
It is important to note that the workflow underwent an initial pilot phase over 6 weeks, where it processed actual but controlled data sets to uncover edge cases and fix minor bugs.
During this phase, workflow parameters and approval thresholds were tuned for optimal balance between automation and human oversight.
After successful pilot completion, RestFlow assumed responsibility for ongoing hosting, real-time monitoring, maintenance, and compliance auditing, ensuring continuous performance and regulatory alignment.
What is the primary benefit of automating GDPR data retention & deletion enforcement?
Automating GDPR data retention and deletion minimizes manual errors, ensures timely compliance, and maintains audit-ready proof, reducing risk and operational overhead.
How does RestFlow help companies automate GDPR compliance workflows?
RestFlow offers Automation-as-a-Service by designing, implementing, hosting, and maintaining customized workflow automations that integrate with company systems to enforce GDPR controls effectively.
Which tools did the Milan company use in their data retention automation?
They used n8n for orchestration, integrated with HubSpot CRM, Google Sheets, Google Drive, and Slack to automate data retention checks, deletions, and compliance notifications.
What are common challenges avoided by automating GDPR data retention & deletion enforcement?
Automation prevents late deletions, data retention overages, inconsistent processes, and lack of verifiable audit trails—all major pain points with manual management.
Is automation under RestFlow scalable and adaptable for GDPR compliance?
Yes. RestFlow designs modular, scalable workflows allowing easy extension to new teams, countries, or regulations, maintained with monitoring and updates for sustainability.
Conclusion: Transforming GDPR Data Retention with Automation
The Milan data company successfully transformed its GDPR data retention and deletion enforcement through a strategic deployment of automation using n8n and RestFlow’s expertise.
This approach eliminated manual friction, improved data privacy compliance, and delivered audit-ready proof with transparency and accountability. By integrating their key systems and leveraging real-time approval and logging, they accelerated compliance response times and reduced errors substantially.
RestFlow’s Automation-as-a-Service model ensures that automation design, implementation, hosting, monitoring, and maintenance are handled end-to-end, enabling companies to focus on growth and customer trust rather than compliance headaches.
If you’re ready to streamline your GDPR compliance processes and build automation workflows like this, start by exploring the Automation Template Marketplace or create your free RestFlow account today.