[January 13, 2016] |
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Businesses' Use of Personal Data at Risk, Accenture Report Warns
A new report from Accenture (News - Alert) (NYSE:ACN) warns that businesses' use of
personal data from consumers is at risk and recommends key strategies
and principles to properly protect consumer data, build trust and
simultaneously grow their businesses.
The report, "Guarding
and Growing Personal Data Value," acknowledges the benefits of using
personal data to support innovation in customer service, product
development and market development. However, it also identifies the
growing challenges that businesses face when using personal data, as a
result of changing sentiments among stakeholders such as customers,
regulatory bodies and watchdogs.
"Customer data is a digital 'crown jewel' for any business but an
organization's ability to collect, analyze and monetize that asset in
the future is under threat due to shifting perceptions, preferences,
regulations and attacks," said Ryan LaSalle, managing director,
Accenture Security. "Above all, stewardship and effective safeguarding
of personal data is paramount to establishing digital trust. The
implications of failing to do so extend into a business's operating model
- meaning businesses must be organized and have the capabilities to
protect the data that is entrusted to them."
The report is based on research conducted by the Accenture
Institute for High Performance that included a survey of
nearly 600 global business professionals across eight industry groups,
interviews with academic experts, and other secondary research.
Ninety percent of respondents said digital stewardship is the most
important principle in terms of improving their business reputation and
being responsible managers of personal data, and 74 percent said that
their businesses are taking action on this principle.
The report identifies several trends affecting the outlook of businesses
using personal data including:
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A crisis of trust in data security: Customers won't do business
with companies they don't trust with their data - and customers' trust
in data security is lacking.
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Customers are acting on their privacy concerns: Customer
actions to protect their data could compromise the amount and qualiy
of personal data that businesses can use.
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Customers are demanding a data dividend: Nearly 60 percent of
respondents from products and manufacturing companies reported their
customers are actively monetizing their own data-for instance, by
selling it to data intermediaries.
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New technologies and startups are helping people go "off grid":
Growth in new privacy-enhancing technologies could impact the quality
of customer data available to businesses.
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Regulation is changing the rules of data collection:
Governments are increasing their regulatory response to concerns over
data privacy.
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Watchdogs are increasing the scrutiny of business data practices:
Groups like Fair Data (U.K.) and Electronic Frontier Foundation (U.S.)
are scrutinizing the way businesses manage personal data.
"Rather than fight these trends, businesses should pursue proactive
strategies that will help them adapt to the changes ahead," said Matthew
Robinson, managing director, Accenture Institute for High Performance.
"This includes investing in the right talent and technologies to bolster
their security capabilities and provide greater data protection, defining
an operational model centered on risk management goals to better
predict, detect, respond and recover from security threats, and
taking action on the principles we've identified that can promote
greater digital trust."
The five principles outlined in the report include:
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Digital stewardship: Ensuring that management of personal data is
consistent with the expectations of those providing it.
Demonstrating personal data stewardship can help businesses
differentiate themselves from the competition. Deutsche Telekom (News - Alert) worked
with email providers Web.de, T-Online and GMX to launch a secure
end-to-end email communication service that stores user data within
Germany, responding to fears of external surveillance of emails. The
company saw a six-figure increase in new subscribers during the Edward
Snowden revelations in 2013.
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Digital transparency: Demonstrating openness in how businesses use
personal data. Companies can foster transparency by proactively
showing customers and others how they are using and storing data.
Nectar (News - Alert), a loyalty program that offers its 18 million customers full
visibility of data collection and use, was singled out as an exemplar
of transparency by the U.K. government.
-
Digital empowerment: Giving customers greater control over their
data. By mastering the two components of digital empowerment -
enabling customers to update data held about them and using data
analytics to help customers make better decisions - companies can
improve customer satisfaction and unlock new sources of revenue.
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Digital equity: Clarifying and potentially increasing the benefits
customers receive in exchange for sharing their data. Companies
can strengthen digital equity by providing greater monetary or
service-in-kind benefits to customers in return for their data.
Kreditech - a German start-up that assesses credit risks-has issued
more than 1.5 million small loans since its launch in 2012 on the
basis of personal data from social networks or e-commerce retail
accounts.
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Digital inclusion: Using personal data to multiply positive
societal outcomes. Personal data that is shared appropriately can
create significant value for society. In 2013, French telecoms company
Orange (News - Alert) worked with a think tank to map economic activity in Côte
d'Ivoire using customer mobile phone data. Though designed to align
urban development efforts with economic needs, the project also
enables Orange to refine its business operations in Côte d'Ivoire.
The report is based on (1) an online survey of 578 business
professionals across seven economies - Brazil, China, France, Germany,
India, U.K. and U.S. - and across eight industry groups; (2) interviews
with academic experts in the U.K.; and (3) secondary research including
literature reviews, case studies and industry-leading practices
undertaken by Accenture specialists. The online survey was conducted by
Kadence International between July and August 2015. For more information
visit www.accenture.com/digitalresponsibility.
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a
broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital,
technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and
specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business
functions - underpinned by the world's largest delivery network -
Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help
clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their
stakeholders. With approximately 373,000 people serving clients in more
than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the
world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com.
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