Businesses gain from strong data privacy practices

Data privacy is very much in people's minds at the moment with the introduction of CCPA and other legislation around the world.

Businesses can sometimes see privacy regulations as a necessary evil that they have to comply with, but new data from Cisco reveals growing, tangible benefits for businesses that adopt strong privacy practices.

Based on a survey of over 2,800 security professionals in organizations of various sizes across 13 countries, it shows customer demand for increased data protection and privacy, the ongoing threat of data breaches and misuse by both unauthorized and authorized users, and preparation for the GDPR, CCPA and similar laws around the globe, have spurred many organizations to make considerable privacy investments which are now starting to deliver strong returns.

Organizations, on average, receive benefits worth 2.7 times their investment, and more than 40 percent are seeing benefits that are at least twice that of their privacy spend. Over 70 percent of organizations now say they receive significant business benefits from privacy efforts beyond compliance, including better agility, increased competitive advantage and improved attractiveness to investors. This is up from 40 percent last year.

In addition companies with higher accountability scores (as assessed using the Centre for Information Policy Leadership's Accountability Wheel, a framework for managing and assessing organizational maturity) experience lower breach costs, shorter sales delays, and higher financial returns.

Privacy certifications such as the ISO 27701, EU/Swiss-US Privacy Shield, and APEC Cross Border Privacy Rules system are also becoming an important buying factor when selecting third-party vendors. India and Brazil topped the list with 95 percent of respondents agreeing external certifications are now an important factor.

Cisco vice president and chief privacy officer Harvey Jang says, "With this Study, we now have empirical evidence of privacy investments paying off for companies -- particularly with improved customer relationships, revenue impact, and real bottom-line results."

You can find out more on the Cisco blog and there's a summary of the findings in infographic form below.

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