Privacy and security are based upon trust transactions. Facebook might claim that it’s secure, but do users still have confidence in the platform? In 2018 as their consumers’ trust in them has slipped, so has its user base. When you trade in the currency of trust, you inherently deal with the other side of the coin which is risk.
A recent Cognizant report stated: “Our study revealed that one of the biggest threats to companies today comes not from the competition but from the ability to win and keep consumer trust.”
So not your perceived trustworthiness is a business risk – but we believe it’s also a potential advantage.
Using Digital Trust to Sell
Given the nearly universal access to information, and the vast expansion of digital services, integrity can be a massive differentiator from the competition. We see that in the rise of alternative consumer offerings such as DuckDuckGo and Tor, but it holds true for business-to-business companies as well.
In a competitive market environment, often one of the buyer’s key decision is trust.
It Starts With Culture
In generating trust capital, an organization must transmit a solid testimony. This means knowing that your enterprise’s data movement and storage are fully secure. Even if you never experience a security breach, you need to be certain you have the best locks on your doors.
IT compliance makes good business sense since it instills an ethos of data protection, privacy, and good governance. To be effective, this attitude should influence the entire organization and its partners.
Strategies, methods, and mindset all work to mitigate the chances for sensitive data exposure or loss that would devastate a covenant of trust. This posture thinks far beyond potential financial penalties such as broken SLAs with commercial partners.
When a culture of security and trust becomes fully ingrained in your organization, you can feel comfortable discussing privacy issues which puts potential clients and partners at ease.
It’s all part of a holistic vision that protects business growth.
Smart Business Sense
For years, large enterprises and F500 companies have been consolidating their supplier networks in an effort to mitigate risk, both financial and legal. Whether they do this for ethical reasons or not, it depends upon the company. Still, many apply security measures for the sole benefit of business alone. Data privacy breach prevention is the cornerstone in this effort to ensure security.
No matter what your motive, investing in the currency of trust is investing in the future of your business.
Does your company’s digital security give you peace of mind? Try out Tugboat Logic and be sure.
PS: Want to turn your InfoSec program into a trust-building, money-making machine? Download The Future of Information Security and see how tomorrow’s category leaders are going to turn security into a competitive advantage.
