Cisco has released its 2025 Data Privacy Benchmark Study, revealing a growing complexity in the privacy landscape amid increasing reliance on artificial intelligence. Conducted across twelve countries with insights from two thousand six hundred privacy and security professionals, the study highlights that eighty-six percent of respondents support privacy legislation, acknowledging its positive impact on business operations. Notably, ninety-six percent believe that investments in privacy yield returns greater than their costs. While familiarity with Generative AI is on the rise, with sixty-three percent reporting they are very familiar with it, concerns about unintended risks persist. The study underscores the importance of local data storage, viewed as safer by ninety percent of organizations, even as they continue to trust global providers for better data protection. Cisco emphasizes that privacy and proper data governance are essential for responsible AI, calling for organizations to strategically align their data governance and AI initiatives to ensure sustainable growth and consumer trust.
Why do we care?
Cisco’s 2025 Data Privacy Benchmark Study reveals a deepening organizational commitment to privacy, but it’s what sits between the lines that MSPs and IT services firms should focus on: the operational consequences of AI adoption under complex, often conflicting, data privacy expectations.
Data privacy is no longer a silo—it’s the foundation for AI, trust, and long-term customer relationships. For IT services firms, this is the signal to bake privacy and data governance into everything from onboarding to AI strategy. It’s not a separate service line—it’s the scaffolding for every one that follows.