Data Privacy and ROI on Data Privacy and AI Initiatives Cited as Key Challenges
Collibra, the leader in unified governance for data and AI, today announced the results of a new Harris Poll survey of more than 300 U.S. adults ages 21+ who are employed full-time as data management, privacy and/or AI decision makers at their current companies (“decision-makers” throughout), and found that 86% of respondents cite protecting data privacy as a top concern with 76% of respondents citing ROI on data privacy and AI initiatives across their organization. Notably, eight in 10 decision makers also said that data ownership has changed over the last year with the emergence of AI [85%].
“AI will continue to disrupt and reshape the future of work,” said Collibra Stijn "Stan" Christiaens, co-founder and Chief Data Citizen at Collibra. “As organizations look to integrate AI more into the workplace, it is ever more critical to connect data owners with privacy and compliance teams to balance AI innovation with trust and ensure data privacy.”
Despite concerns around data privacy and ROI, the survey indicates a strong overall momentum towards AI adoption, with 86% of organizations planning to proceed with their AI initiatives. However, this enthusiasm varies by company size. While nearly all large companies (96%) intend to forge ahead with their AI plans despite the evolving landscape, smaller (78%) and medium-sized (79%) organizations are exhibiting a more measured approach.
Our survey also found that nine in 10 employees at larger organizations (1,000+) say their company encourages the use of AI in the workplace and provides the necessary tools to support their work. The same percentage also said that their company has issued an AI use policy or guidelines to their employees.
On a positive note, the new survey also found that nearly nine in 10 decision-makers say that they have a lot or a great deal of trust in their own companies’ approach [88%] to shaping the future of AI, with three quarters [75%] agreeing that their company prioritizes AI training and upskilling, with decision-makers at large companies (1000+ employees) more likely than those at small companies (1-99 employees) to agree (87% vs. 55%).
“As Al continues to be adopted across Corporate America, organizations need to centralize visibility of AI models and agents across AI platforms and ensure traceability between AI use cases and the data that feeds them,” stated Christiaens. “By adopting an approach to AI governance that connects models, data, and policies, organizations can protect critical data while ensuring confidentiality measures.”
For more information and resources on Collibra’s product offerings, please visit collibra.com.
Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Collibra from February 24-28, 2025, among 303 U.S. adults aged 21+ who are employed full-time, as data management, privacy, and/or Artificial Intelligence (AI) decision-makers (director level or higher) at their current company. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the full sample data is accurate to within +/- 5.7 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact [email protected].
About Collibra
Collibra helps our customers accelerate data and AI use cases — without the risk. Our powerful, unified platform brings flexible governance and continuous quality with automated visibility, control and traceability to the world’s leading brands. Collibra unifies governance for data and AI for every user, every use case and across every source so that everyone in the organization can trust, comply and consume their data at scale. This is Data Confidence. To learn more, visit collibra.com and follow us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook and Instagram.
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