State of IT in Europe 09 IT Confronts Dual Challenges of 15 Innovation and Protection Customers now demand a myriad of digital European IT Leaders Say Cloud Security Has Improved touchpoints from businesses, enabling the Despite shifting customer and business data regulations, most IT leaders in Europe anywhere, anytime experiences they require, but say cloud security has improved. also introducing new vulnerabilities that make security more important than ever. The business value of security is underscored by the fact that many customers will avoid businesses that are breached or leave personal data exposed. Seventy- two percent of European consumers and 75% of European business buyers are likely to switch brands in the wake of a data breach.* 80% Businesses in Europe are also concerned that moving their data into the cloud or integrating data of European IT leaders sources across business units will inhibit them from believe cloud security meeting data protection requirements. For instance, has improved over the such firms worry that handing over their data to past five years cloud providers requires moving it to a data center outside of Europe, though this is often not the case. Although 80% of European IT leaders believe cloud security has improved over the past five years, there is still wariness around data privacy in the cloud, particularly as regulations around customer and business data protection are nebulous. Staying abreast of the latest rules — and how products, services and data storage adhere to them — is key to IT success. Salesforce Research *“State of the Connected Customer,” Salesforce Research, October 2016.