Privacy policy

Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) applies to Ask Howard and The Technology Economists, LLC (“Company”) and governs data collection and usage across www.techeconomists.com (the “Site”) and all related applications and services (collectively, the “Services”). By using the Services you consent to the data practices described in this statement.

Collection of Your Personal Information

In order to provide you with the products and Services offered, the Company may collect personally identifiable information, such as:

• First and last name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Employer and job title

We do not collect any personal information about you unless you voluntarily provide it to us. However, you may be required to provide certain personal information when you elect to use specific Services. These may include: (a) registering for an account; (b) subscribing to newsletters; (c) downloading gated content; (d) purchasing products or Services; or (e) contacting us for support. We may also gather additional personal or non‑personal information in the future.

Use of Your Personal Information

The Company collects and uses your personal information to:

• Operate and deliver the Services you have requested;
• Provide you with information, products, or Services that you request from us;
• Provide you with notices about your account;
• Fulfil our contractual obligations and enforce our rights, including for billing and collection;
• Notify you about changes to our Services; and
• Inform you of other products or Services available from the Company and its affiliates, where permitted by law.

Data Collected by the Ask Howard Application

Types of Data Captured

When you interact with the Ask Howard application (including web widgets, APIs, or integrated data‑collection templates), we may collect:

• Organisational Technology & Financial Metrics – IT spend, budget allocations, cost structures, performance indicators, and related operational data that you upload or input for benchmarking purposes.
• Benchmarking Inputs & Templates – Structured data files (e.g., spreadsheets, survey responses) that describe your technology environment, staffing levels, service towers, or other metrics used in the analysis.
• Usage Logs & Interaction Data – Prompts, queries, dialogue content, clickstream information, timestamps, and session identifiers generated during your use of Ask Howard.
• Aggregated Metadata – De‑identified statistical information derived from your submissions (e.g., percentile rankings, maturity scores, anonymised reference data).

Purpose of Collection

The Company processes Ask Howard data in order to:

1. Generate tailored analytics, benchmarking reports, and strategic recommendations specific to your organisation;
2. Improve the accuracy, performance, security, and relevance of the Ask Howard models and underlying analytics engines;
3. Produce industry‑level anonymous aggregates and indices that inform our research publications and thought‑leadership content; and
4. Provide customer support, maintain audit logs, and ensure compliance with applicable laws and security standards.

Legal Basis & Consent

Processing of Ask Howard data is based on your explicit consent at the point of submission and on the Company’s legitimate interest in delivering and improving contractual Services. You may withdraw consent at any time; however, doing so may limit the functionality of Ask Howard reports.

Data Sharing & Retention

• Personally identifiable Ask Howard data will not be shared with third parties except (i) with your explicit permission, (ii) to trusted service providers acting on our behalf under confidentiality obligations, or (iii) where required by law.
• De‑identified and aggregated datasets may be shared publicly or with research partners for benchmarking and industry‑analysis purposes.
• Raw benchmarking inputs are retained only as long as necessary to deliver the requested reports, fulfil contractual obligations, and comply with legal or accounting requirements. Aggregated, anonymised data may be retained indefinitely.

Security Measures

Ask Howard data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.2 or higher) and at rest. Access is restricted to authorised personnel under role‑based access controls and confidentiality agreements. We regularly test, assess, and evaluate the effectiveness of our technical and organisational security measures.

Your Choices

You may request access to, correction of, or deletion of your Ask Howard data at any time by contacting privacy@techeconomists.com. We will respond in accordance with applicable data‑protection laws. Certain requests may limit our ability to provide Services.

Sharing Information with Third Parties

The Company does not sell, rent, or lease its customer lists to third parties. We may share data with trusted partners solely to help perform statistical analysis, send email or postal mail, provide customer support, or arrange deliveries. All such third parties are prohibited from using your personal information except to provide these Services to the Company and are required to maintain its confidentiality.

We may disclose personal information if required to do so by law or in the good‑faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to legal obligations; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of the Company; or (c) act under exigent circumstances to protect the personal safety of users or the public.

Right to Deletion

Subject to certain exceptions, upon receipt of a verifiable request we will delete your personal information and direct our service providers to do the same, unless retention is necessary for reasons outlined by law (e.g., to complete transactions, detect fraud, debug, exercise free‑speech rights, comply with legal obligations, or conduct public‑interest research).

Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies (e.g., web beacons, pixels) to ensure the Site functions properly, recognise repeat visits, and analyse traffic. You can control the use of cookies at the individual browser level; however, disabling cookies may affect your ability to use certain features of the Site.

Children Under Thirteen

The Company does not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under 13. If you are under 13, please obtain parental consent before using the Site.

Email Communications

We may contact you via email for announcements, offers, confirmations, surveys, and other communications. To stop receiving marketing emails, follow the unsubscribe instructions in the message or contact us at privacy@techeconomists.com.

External Data Storage Sites

We may store your data on servers provided by third‑party hosting vendors with whom we have contracted.

Changes to This Statement

We reserve the right to update this Policy to reflect changes in our practices or applicable law. Significant changes will be communicated via email, prominent notice on the Site, or other appropriate means.

Contact Information

The Technology Economists, LLC
1043 Prospect Street
Westfield, NJ 07090
Email: privacy@techeconomists.com
Phone: +1 (908) 555‑1234