A recent Zoho Digital Health study has revealed only 50 per cent of businesses report full compliance with all data privacy regulations and industry guidelines, highlighting a significant gap in data privacy practices across businesses.

While this is a good improvement from 42 per cent in 2023, the shortfall emphasises the need for businesses to improve their data practices.

As Data Privacy Day approaches on January 28^th, the spotlight intensifies on the urgent need for individuals and businesses to take control of their data.

More positively, transparency of data practices has emerged as a growing strength, with 50 per cent of respondents agreeing their data privacy policies are clear, simple and transparent, up from 33 per cent in 2023.

The survey revealed that 47 per cent of businesses now view data privacy as a critical part of their success.

Despite this, the report exposes serious gaps where businesses are falling behind. Only 31 per cent of businesses report going beyond requirements to provide additional protection for customer and employee data, which suggests that while businesses are meeting compliance, few businesses are taking proactive steps to enhance data protection.

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“In an increasingly data-driven world,  organisations must prioritise data privacy throughout their operations,” Sachin Agrawal, Managing Director, Zoho UK commented. “It is encouraging to see the growing recognition of data privacy’s role in driving business policies, but there is still a lot of progress to be made.”

“According to Zoho’s Digital Health survey, businesses must improve transparency around data usage as a clear step toward ethical behaviour. This will play an important role in improving customer experience, strengthening  customer relationships.

“To unlock the full transformative potential of technologies like AI, businesses must have clear and well-defined data strategies which both protect customer and employee data but enable flexibility of use in the right way.”