Data may be the new oil but half of UK bosses are willing to see it slip through their fingers by not insuring themselves against data loss, according to a report by Accenture, which claims this lapse is akin to failing to get cover for the Crown Jewels.
As if to hammer home the point, the study reveals that a quarter of business leaders have witnessed an attempt on their data in the last year, either to steal it, or to destroy it; for larger firms this jumps to a third.
Accenture claims that insuring against data loss can be done at “a fraction of the cost” of gathering and analysing data.
The report claims that the average medium-sized business spends more than a $1m (£770,000) a year on data harvesting and analytics, while insurance can be acquired for “as little as” $85,000 (£65,000) a year.
Accenture believes the main barrier is that many businesses still consider data as a cost, with managing director George Marcotte claiming that too many firms are clinging to traditional practices.
He added: “These businesses still revolve around the five classic asset classes: monetary, physical, relational, organisational and human, which I imagine they will have insurance to protect. And yet they don’t put data into that category.
“It’s only the new platform companies that see data as a sixth asset class. Not only will they take steps to insure it, but they also take bigger steps to invest in it. As data becomes more vital to business success, not taking all steps to protect it is like forgetting to insure the Crown Jewels.”
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