Privacy has become a true business imperative and a critical component of customer trust for organisations around the world. In Asia-Pacific (APAC) 91% of participants to Cisco’s 2022 Data Privacy Benchmark Study consider privacy is mission-critical.
Source: 2022 Data Privacy Benchmark Study, Cisco
Separately, the study also noted that 91% of APAC respondents said they would not buy from an organisation that does not properly protect its data, and 93% indicated that external privacy certifications are important in their buying process.
“Privacy continues to grow in importance for organisations in Asia Pacific, with 96% in the region saying they are reporting one or more privacy-related metrics to their board, and privacy investment rising with an average budget increase of 18%,” explains Dave West, President, Asia Pacific, Japan, and Greater China, Cisco.
He added that these trends are more pronounced in the region when compared to the rest of the world, with markets like Japan (100%), Thailand (55%), and South Korea (45%) leading the pack in terms of increase in privacy budget.
Privacy ROI
Privacy’s Return on Investment (ROI) remains high for the third straight year, with increased benefits for small to medium size organisations. More than 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.
Respondents estimate their ROI to be 1.8 times spending on average. While this continues to be very attractive, it is slightly less than last year (1.9 times spending). This could be due to ongoing needs in responding to the pandemic, adapting to new legislation, uncertainty over international data transfers, and increasing requests for data localisation.
Privacy legislation
Privacy legislation continues to be very well received around the world even though complying with these laws often involves significant effort and cost (e.g., cataloguing data, maintaining records of processing activities, implementing controls – privacy by design, responding to user requests).
Among corporate respondents in APAC, 86% said privacy laws have had a positive impact, and only 3% indicated the laws have had a negative impact.
The cost of compliance
As governments and organisations continue to demand further data protection, they are putting in place data localisation requirements. Ninety-three per cent of survey respondents in Asia Pacific said this has become an important issue for their organizations.
But it comes at a price – across the region, 91% said that localisation requirements are adding significant cost to their operation.
West noted that when it comes to storing data, organisations must ensure that they comply with the data localisation legislation in the jurisdictions where data is being collected.
Owning the responsibility
Finally, when it comes to using data, 93% of survey respondents in APAC recognise that their organisation has a responsibility to only use data in a responsible manner. Up to 87% believe they already have processes in place to ensure automated decision-making is done in accordance with customer expectations.
Yet, Cisco’s 2021 Consumer Privacy Survey showed many individuals want more transparency and 56% of consumers surveyed globally are concerned about the use of data in AI and automated decision-making.
Forty-six per cent of consumers surveyed felt they cannot adequately protect their data, chiefly because they do not understand what organisations are collecting and doing with their data.
