Trust: Why customer concerns should be the primary driver of better data security, not legislation
The title of a recent ComputerWeekly feature says it all, really: “Don’t Wait for EU regulation to practice good data ethics”.
In spite of all the media attention the upcoming General Data Protection Regulation has been receiving, there has been little focus on the positive reasons for adopting “good data ethics”. In reality, these should be prioritized ahead of compliance and avoiding legal punishment.
In particular, the feature points to building trust with customers, and the competitive edge this brings. It cites Frank Buytendijk, a Gartner analyst specialising in data ethics, who describes a “second level” of data ethics beyond risk avoidance, where distinctive data security capabilities give organizations a competitive advantage.
While data security, trust, and transparency are currently key selling points for modern organizations, I believe that they are going to become critical differentiators in years to come. Tech-savvy consumers are increasingly concerned with the security of their data, and have already hinted at their willingness to allow these concerns to determine where they shop, and which services they use.
A recent Intercede survey, for example, found that just 5% of Millenials believe that their data identity is protected by adequate safeguards, while 54% felt that the failure of companies and governments to protect their data identities will results in distrust in good goods and services.
The thing is, it is these digitally native millennials who are currently entering the workforce, and who, along with Centennials, will shape the future of modern business. They will bring with them a new set of expectations regarding how business should be done, including how their data should be handled.
These are the same consumers whose social conscience have, and will continue to, change the food market as we know it. They have already shown willingness, for example, to pay more for ethically sourced food and slap it with the hashtag #eatclean, and even strongly established brands like MacDonalds have seen a decline in favour of eco-friendly, humanitarian competition.
If data security is becoming a primary concern among ethically-driven Millenials (as the Symantec research suggests), it stands to reason that a high degree of trust and transparency will become a key make or break point for modern organizations. As businesses grow increasingly reliant on Apps and software to reach customers, their success will hinge on their ability to build trust with the consumers whose data they are constantly collecting and analysing.
[Image: Pixabay]