Trust has always been a cornerstone of successful business operations, and in today's digital era, it has become even more critical.

Digital trust is no longer just a buzzword; it's a fundamental requirement for organisations aiming to thrive in today’s fast-evolving business landscape. In our last Newsletter article, we looked at how cybersecurity has become non-negotiable for enterprises that want to grow unhindered in the digital age. In this article, we take the conversation forward and explore the vital role of digital trust in the world of business.

In an increasingly digital world, trust lies at the heart of all economic transactions. Nobel Prize-winning economist Kenneth Arrow recognised this fundamental concept back in 1972, emphasising how trust plays a pivotal role in driving economic activities. Today, trust takes on a new dimension in the digital age, where most interactions occur online. Building trust in this digital landscape hinges on the efficacy of online capabilities, security assurances, and transparency in business operations.

According to IDC's 2022 Future Enterprise Resiliency and Spending Survey , 81.6% of organisations have identified digital trust programs as a top priority. These programs encompass investments in security, privacy, and compliance technologies aimed at enhancing long-term resilience and business success.

Defining Trust in the Digital Age

To help organisations align their trust initiatives with desired business outcomes, IDC introduced the Hierarchy of Trust. This framework outlines the foundational, compulsory, and strategic elements of trust. Trust decisions are formed based on each entity's digital reputation and the assurance levels provided by their cybersecurity programs.

The Elements of Trust:

Foundational Trust: The bedrock of trust is risk management. Organisations are shifting from traditional control-based approaches to risk-based strategies to address the uncertainties of the ever-changing cyber, economic, and geopolitical landscape.

Compulsory Trust: Regulatory and policy compliance is fundamental and compulsory for doing business. Security of IT assets is a core requirement.

Strategic Trust: Businesses focus on maximising the return on investment while considering attributes like privacy, ethics, and social responsibility. Trust can be leveraged to create positive outcomes.

Trust is key to all business relationships

In today’s digital-first business environments, trust is intertwined with the technologies that make these business digital. Earning trust and keeping it is heavily dependent on these technologies when it comes to critical business relationships such as those between:

• Customers and business
• Business and business partners
• Business and employee
• Business and governments

From keeping data, information and identity safe to securing transactions, the pathways, the access points and devices that enable the flow, the failure of trust across any of these elements can spell doom for the business.

At the worse, customers may simply choose to not engage with the business again and switch a competitor if they lose trust in the entity’s digital security.

Challenges and Opportunities

Security breaches are one of the key reasons organisations lose trust. While the costs and impacts of these breaches are well-documented, the positive role that trust can play in business is often overlooked.

Reimagining strategy and operating models to ensure digital trust What can businesses do to ensure digital trust as they are compelled to go more digital to keep up with the world and its demands? The shift to digital-first operating models and the rise of secure remote workforces have redefined business strategies. Mobile and cloud technologies have become crucial for customer engagement and cyber-resilience.

• Organisations must adapt to a rapidly evolving landscape, considering issues like insecure hybrid access, cloud security, threat management, and regulatory compliance visibility.
• Outsourcing security to Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) is emerging as a viable solution for tackling these challenges effectively.

This is just a glimpse into the broader discussion on digital trust. To delve deeper into this critical topic and explore its impact on your business, we invite you to read the full article from IDC and Tata Communications. For the full article, please follow this link . Your journey towards a secure and digitally trusted future begins here.

Stay tuned to learn how to keep your business secure in our next ConnectED Thread edition for the Cybsersecurity Awareness Month.