Continental European Consumers’ Attitudes Toward Data Privacy and Dependable IT Not in Synch With UK, Says Unisys Trusted Enterprise StudyResearch also reveals universal support for biometricsBLUE BELL, Pa., September 20, 2007 – In an age when ID theft, phishing and online fraud have become serious global issues, a huge gap has emerged between consumers in the UK and continental Europe on the way they rate data privacy and dependable IT in building trust with the organisations they do business with, says a new report from Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS).
Where there is consensus across Europe, however, is on the use of biometrics, such as fingerprint and Iris scanning, with 75 per cent of European consumers rating the use of biometrics as a significant trust building factor.
These and other findings are from the Unisys Trusted Enterprise study, which measured the importance, impact and influence of trust, privacy and security among 3,669 consumers across eight European countries1.
The results within the eight European countries surveyed vary enormously, perhaps revealing cultural nuances that pan-European and global companies need to consider when doing business in local markets. For example, while 81 per cent of UK consumers cite an organisation’s ability to keep their data safe and secure as a key trust-building attribute, only 42 per cent of French, 40 per cent of Belgians, and a mere 35 per cent of German consumers agree that such privacy protection is a key factor in building trust.
Conversely, not protecting privacy is critical to eroding trust and 58 per cent of Europeans cite this as a top concern. The UK leads with 76 per cent of consumers who feel ineffective data privacy protection would cause erosion of trust, followed by Spain (62 per cent), France (58 per cent), Sweden (57 per cent), Belgium (56 per cent), Germany (56 per cent) and Italy (54 per cent).
This trend continues when looking at the importance people place on the technology used by organisations, with 75 per cent of UK consumers believing that dependable IT is important in building their trust against an average of only 42 per cent of consumers on continental Europe. Despite technology playing an intrinsic role in the way businesses operate and interact with consumers, only 36 per cent of consumers in France, 27 per cent in Italy and 28 per cent in Spain cite dependable technology as a key trust-building factor. Only in Holland is this trend significantly different, with 67 per cent of consumers citing undependable IT as significant factor in eroding trust.
This would suggest that people in these European countries do not yet fully realise the benefits that technology brings to their daily lives and the importance it plays for companies in providing best of class services to their customers, whether that’s being able to do banking out of hours, contact local government offices online or having piece of mind that credit card details are secure when shopping.
“This research illustrates that outside of the UK, there is still a distinct lack of awareness among consumers in many continental European countries about the true value of having their personal data protected and the benefits that dependable IT can bring to them when they are shopping, banking, traveling or in hospital - which is surprising when you consider the risks of poor IT, including online fraud and service delays,” said Rene Head, Head of Enterprise Security in Continental Europe, Unisys. “With this in mind, we believe that consumers have a natural expectation that businesses will secure their operations and deliver quality services, Consumers will take action – often by taking their business elsewhere – if these factors aren’t addressed.”
The Unisys study also revealed that biometrics rate highly among three quarters of European consumers as a trust-building technology. In fact, 89 per cent of consumers in Belgium, 82 per cent in the United Kingdom, and 65 per cent in Spain believe that it is acceptable for trusted organisations such as banks, credit card providers, health care and government organisations to use biometrics to verify identity. Convenience of not having to remember separate passwords and security of their data were the primary reasons for favoring biometrics, according to 59 per cent and 50 per cent of Europeans respectively.
“There is a great opportunity here for business to win consumer trust by driving home the benefits of technology and security, whether that is in securing people’s data or in delivering new products and services,” said Rene Head. “And we in the IT community have a role to play in that education process.”
About the Research
The survey required respondents to rate 28 trust attributes that they believed most likely either to build or erode an organisation’s trust level, using a five-point scale ranging from “very important” to “irrelevant.” Respondents also ranked trust-building and –eroding factors among industries. Experts in the areas of trust, ethics, security and related disciplines developed the survey instruments and tested them for readability, difficulty and validity.
1 The eight participating countries are the UK, France, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Italy, Spain and Belgium About Unisys Unisys is a worldwide information technology services and solutions company. We provide consulting, systems integration, outsourcing and infrastructure services, combined with powerful enterprise server technology. We specialize in helping clients use information to create efficient, secure business operations that allow them to achieve their business goals. Our consultants and industry experts work with clients to understand their business challenges and create greater visibility into critical linkages throughout their operations. For more information, visit www.unisys.com.
### Contacts Caroline Power, +44 (0) 419 7309
Sandrine Leroux-Graves, Unisys, +44 (0) 1895 865462 |
