Data is an essential business driver today. Companies operate in a data- and analytics-driven world to improve operations and customer experiences and, ultimately improve the bottom line. Business leaders recognize the value of data, as almost 90% of organizations see data as a strategic asset. Data helps them reduce costs, improve efficiency, decrease risks and help businesses gain a competitive advantage.

To achieve those outcomes businesses undertake various initiatives that are based on the data that they collect and analyze, such as targeted marketing and improving the employee experience. This is only achievable with timely access to data.

But, therein lies the challenge. Businesses need to be able to access data quickly and safely since the value of data is eroded over time, especially if it speaks to time-sensitive use cases.

The reality is businesses struggle with balancing the needs of the enterprise for fast access to data and privacy and security. Unfortunately, the majority of companies are unable to use more than 40% of their data due to privacy concerns. While the data that is available is readily accessible, this represents only a fraction of the data they need to access to drive innovation.

“Balancing an organization's need for analytical utility with the need to protect personal customer information and comply with rapidly evolving regulatory requirements is no small feat,” said Steve Totman, chief strategy officer at Privitar. “But it is one that if not addressed will curtail an organization’s ability to reach the full potential of their data and analytics initiatives.”

Organizations are reacting. More than two-thirds are investing in data privacy tools that can help minimize the risk associated with sensitive data or plan to invest in a data privacy solution within the next year. The reasons for making data privacy investments are to mitigate risks and data loss and to comply with standards and regulations.

Privitar, as well as other data security platforms, help simplify data protection. They provide access controls and data privacy, ensure efficient regulatory compliance and democratize access to safe, high-utility data.

In addition to embracing data privacy tools, the data leaders also want to expand the range of data sources available for approved use, have faster access to approved and protected data, enable more users to access approved data and increase the ability to share data with partners.

“Expanding access to safe data can have a dramatic impact on an organization’s ability to effectively leverage that data for innovation,” said Totman.

Businesses struggle with balancing the needs of the enterprise for fast access to safe data. The silver lining is that data leaders show signs that they are investing in data privacy with a belief that there is more to do to ensure that information is safeguarded and used effectively.