Summary Bullets:

• The overwhelming majority of organizations say they are benefiting from privacy investments in a myriad of ways, including helping increase customer trust.

• But most acknowledge data localization efforts increase the cost and complexity – and risk – to cross-border data transfers.

Data privacy is top of mind for most organizations, and not just because of a stormy geopolitical climate that is putting pressure on businesses to meet stringent regulatory requirements around data residency. Security concerns about protecting both customer data and intellectual property have companies expanding privacy programs. There is also growing recognition that customers place a premium on knowing their data will be protected.

But more than anything, it’s artificial intelligence (AI), and the need to protect data generated by technology, that is driving organizations to build out their privacy programs. A recent Cisco survey of 5,200 IT and security professionals found that 90% say they had extended their privacy initiatives because of AI, with 43% spending more on privacy programs in the last year. Thirty-eight percent (38%) say they spent $5 million or more on privacy, a leap from 14% in 2025.

Organizations are deriving big benefits from privacy programs, with 99 % observing they have seen quantifiable returns from privacy investments, including ‘enhanced agility and innovation.” That said, resource gaps remain. Just 12% call their AI governance committees mature.

Seventy-seven percent (77%) say safeguarding intellectual property created from AI datasets is their highest priority. IT professionals and security practitioners note that risks associated with using proprietary or customer data in AI training are a top concern. The reality is that policies applied in privacy programs need to keep pace with innovations impacting the data that they are tasked with securing.

The customer is the motivating factor in organizations prioritizing privacy. Forty-five percent (45%) recognize that transparency about data use is the most critical element in building customer trust. This puts data privacy ahead of compliance or breach protection for customers. Fifty-three percent (53%) call out customer sentiment and trust as a metric to assess return on privacy investments, citing things like lower sales friction as a direct result.