- Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CSCO) recently published its 2022 Data Privacy Benchmark Study. And it revealed some interesting metrics.
Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CSCO) recently published its 2022 Data Privacy Benchmark Study, which is an annual global review of privacy corporate practices, on the impact of privacy on organizations and their views towards data privacy. This year’s report found that privacy is mission-critical, as 90% consider privacy a business imperative. And the survey showed privacy investment continues to rise and organizations see a high return on investments from privacy spending.
Privacy has become a major business imperative and a critical component of customer trust for organizations around the world. And for the second year in a row, 90% of the respondents said they would not buy from an organization that does not properly protect its data, and 91% indicated that external privacy certifications are important in their buying process.
The return on investment (ROI) on privacy remains high for the third straight year as there are increased benefits for small to medium size organizations. And over 60% of respondents felt they were getting significant business value from privacy, especially when it comes to reducing sales delays, mitigating losses from data breaches, enabling innovation, achieving efficiency, building trust with customers, and making their company more attractive.
The respondents estimated their ROI to be 1.8 times spending on average. Even though this continues to be very attractive, it is slightly less than last year (1.9 times spending). This could be due to the ongoing needs in responding to the pandemic, adapting to new legislation, uncertainty over international data transfers, and increasing requests for data localization.
Privacy legislation has been well received around the world, even though complying with these laws often involves significant effort and cost. And 83% of all corporate respondents said privacy laws have had a positive impact, and only 3% indicated the laws have had a negative impact.
As governments and organizations are continuing to demand further data protection, they are putting in place data localization requirements. And 92% of survey respondents said this has become an important issue for their organizations. But it comes at a price – across all geographies, 88% said that localization requirements are adding significant cost to their operation.
When it comes to using data, 92% of survey respondents recognize that their organization has a responsibility to only use data in a responsible manner. And nearly as many (87%) believe they already have processes in place to ensure automated decision-making is done in accordance with customer expectations. But Cisco’s 2021 Consumer Privacy Survey showed many individuals want more transparency and 56% are concerned about the use of data in AI and automated decision-making. 46% percent of surveyed consumers felt they cannot adequately protect their data, mainly because they do not understand what organizations are collecting and doing with their data.
KEY QUOTES:
“With 94% of organizations saying they are reporting one or more privacy-related metrics to their board, and privacy investment rising with an average budget up 13 percent, there’s no doubt that privacy continues to grow in importance for organizations, regardless of their size or location. We also see privacy growing to be part of the vital skills and core responsibilities for security professionals. This year’s study confirmed that aligning privacy with security creates financial and maturity advantages compared to other models.”
— Harvey Jang, Cisco Vice President and Chief Privacy Officer
“Cisco is committed to data privacy, including governance of emergent technologies such as artificial intelligence. We’re publishing the Responsible AI Framework as part of Cisco’s commitment to transparency and adaptability by establishing a governance process and concrete working practices for our development teams, including vital communication channels with our customers and constituencies. The framework defines clear principles in alignment with the values of our customers.”
— Anurag Dhingra, Cisco Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Collaboration
