Veeam® Software has published research which reveals that UK consumers believe their data is worth £27,000 on average, the equivalent cost of a three year university education or a brand new Audi A1.
Despite this, there is a strong disconnect between business and consumers in the handling of their data, with research highlighting that consumer trust in organisations to look after their data needs to be addressed, which includes having the right security and backups in place.
Based on a survey of over 2,000 UK consumers[1], the findings reveal:
- Consumers value data more than ever before – almost half (47%) say their data has more value than the physical items they own
- Expectations of organisations have never been higher to keep data secure and available – over half of UK consumers say they are more concerned with hackers stealing their personal data than their physical items
- Businesses need to be doing more to protect customer data – over half (51%) of consumers say that there isn’t an organisation they trust the most when handling their data. This rises to 64% amongst over 55s, highlighting how older people are the least trusting of the private and public sectors when it comes to data management, compared to the younger generation, where only a third (32%) of 16-24s feel the same way
- The availability of stored data is important – if businesses experience an outage causing the unavailability of services or access of data, consumers expect them to be resolved on average within 2 hours and 41 minutes, the same time it takes to fly to Paris and back from London. In addition, over a third (39%) of consumers admitted that if an organisation did experience an outage, they would stop using their product or service
- Consumers want to know where their data is being stored – over a third (37%) of people care where their data is secured, yet 60% don’t know where their data is stored when using the public cloud
Data management has become a fundamental responsibility for businesses today. Not having the right protection in place could see an organisation suffer significant financial and reputational damage, and the scandal that ensues can causing lasting damage.
Mark Adams, Regional VP for UK & Ireland at Veeam, said: “Whether it is online banking, insurance claims processing or medical records management, it’s paramount services must be backed-up, readily available and that data remains secure. Over the past 12 months the importance of secure data management has entered the public consciousness, and businesses today can ill afford to bury their heads in the sand to these demands. Our research highlights that the private and public sectors both have work to do in building trust with consumers when it comes to data management and storage. Doing this correctly is no longer a nice to have, but an essential ingredient to building a successful and trusted business.
“Customers need the confidence and trust in organisations that the security, storage and handling of their data will always work and be available as needed. World Backup Day should serve as a reminder to understand the value of good data management. By deploying intelligent data management at the core of the business, organisations can use data at their disposal to better understand customers and their preferences, optimise sales channel strategies to fit their current needs, provide improved service, and retain customers. This data can also be used to find ways to cross-sell to customers and deliver new digital services and experiences.”
