About 87 per cent of Indians have new concerns about how organisations use their personal data since the pandemic began, new research said on Tuesday. According to an OpenText report, Indians have grown increasingly concerned about their privacy and the protection of their personal data since the start of the pandemic.


About one-fifth (21 per cent) of people say they would no longer buy from or use a company if it failed to protect their information.


In addition, more than four in five (83 per cent) would be willing to pay more to use or buy from an organisation that was expressly committed to protecting personal data.


"While the need to protect personal information has become mission-critical across all industry sectors and brings multiple compliance challenges, it also presents an opportunity. In protecting customers' data, organisations can safeguard customer trust, ensure continued brand loyalty, and in so doing deliver an information advantage," said Sandy Ono, Executive Vice President, and Chief Marketing Officer at OpenText.


Nearly nine out of ten employees (93 per cent) worry about their personal data now that they work in distributed teams, and almost four in ten employees (38 per cent) expect their company to ensure their data is secure no matter where they are located, according to the research. Moreover, now that Arogya Setu is not mandatory, two out of five Indians (40 per cent) are concerned that their data won't be deleted even when it's not needed to combat Covid-19.


In contrast to this growing awareness and lack of trust in organisations, (87 per cent) of consumers know how to maintain their privacy on apps, email accounts, and social media accounts, the research added.


"In light of the growing data landscape, it is clear that we need to rethink the way we architect and construct data environments. Ultimately, the goal of every organisation should be to give the right people the right access and the right data from anywhere. A comprehensive legal framework is a need that will help in protecting personal data," said Manish Dangwal, Regional Vice President, India at Opentext.