New Research from Accenture Shows Only 6% of Enterprises are Ready for Regulatory Changes

The internet is changing. All over the world, new types of regulation are leading to widely different models of data governance and, according to new research from Accenture, many companies are struggling to keep up.

As we mentioned in a recent article about how the world wide web is isn’t as world wide as it once was, the number of laws, regulations and government policies requiring digital information to be stored in a specific country more than doubled to 144 from 2017 to 2021, as countries all over the world adopted new data rules and regulations.

The result is that there is a tsunami of laws on the horizon, with stringent new rules dictating who can share data with whom. The effects upon businesses will be manifold, which explains why when asked, 97% of respondents wisely understood that regulation would affect their business to some extent.

However, perhaps more alarmingly, only 6% stated that they were fully prepared to accommodate near-term and ongoing regulatory changes.
Falling foul of new data regulatory rules can be a costly exercise for businesses. In the UK alone for example, it was reported that approximately 570 million procurement contracts in the UK remained non-compliant to new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), resulting in a whopping potential of £300bn worth of fines.

Such costs explain why - as we saw in our recent Data Talent report - enterprises are investing a lot in this space. According to Accenture, 77% said the future regulation of AI is a current company-wide priority. 80% plan to commit at least 10% of their total AI budget to meeting regulatory requirements by 2024.

Overall, some 35% cited uncertainty around the rollout process/timing of these new regulations, while 34% believed that inconsistent standards across regions was a major concern.

However, despite these changes disrupting how enterprises do business, a sizeable amount of those surveyed believed that the ability to deliver high quality, trustworthy AI systems that are regulation-ready will give first movers a significant advantage in the short-term, enabling them to attract new customers, retain existing ones and build investor confidence.

43% thought that regulation would improve their ability to industrialize and scale AI, whilst 36% believe it will create opportunities for competitive advantage/differentiation. All in all, 41% believed it could help attract/retain talent.

The report centers on what it calls Responsible AI which essentially is a business’s use of algorithms which are future proof in terms of legislation and ethical standards. The report identifies key indicators of an enterprises readiness for regulation going forward.

In short, the report found that a CEO/C-Suite’s involvement in, and support for, Responsible AI was a key success factor for AI-mature organizations. It also indicated that investment in compliance, operationalization of governance and risk management frameworks as well as risk mitigation technologies and techniques were key. Overall, a responsible AI culture, talent management and training/reskilling were also important in ensuring an enterprises success.

At the same time as businesses leverage AI more than ever before, enterprises are facing unprecedented levels of regulation. Walking the tightrope between the two can be a tricky affair, so stay up to date with incoming regulation by becoming a member of the AI, Data and Analytics network today.