Experian 2014 Annual Report Download - page 28

24 Strategic report • Protecting our business
Protecting our business continued
LOSS OR INAPPROPRIATE USE OF DATA
Experian owns and processes a large amount of highly sensitive and confidential consumer information.
Performance indicator
EBIT, employee
engagement and general
litigation trends
Strategic alignment
• Product innovation
• New customer segments
• Geographic expansion
Further information
• Our business lines
section
Description of risk
• We may face cyber-attacks on us, our partners or
third-party contractors, suffer other breaches of
security, or lost, misappropriated or misused data.
Potential impact
• Losing or misusing data could result in material loss
of business, substantial legal liability or significant
harm to our reputation.
How we manage this risk
• We have robust physical security, technical
controls and contractual precautions.
Change from 2013
Increasing risk
2014 update
The persistent threat of cyber-attacks in
both the public and private sectors means
that organisations will have to continuously
adapt and strategically invest, to protect
their data and systems from increasingly
complex threats. We continue to invest in
IT security and execute a sound security
strategy that allows for layered protections
across our technology infrastructure.
EXPOSURE TO LEGISLATION OR REGULATORY REFORMS ADDRESSING CONSUMER PRIVACY
Legislative and judicial systems in the countries we operate in are responding to public concerns over consumer privacy.
Performance indicator
EBIT and ROCE
Strategic alignment
• Product innovation
• Geographic expansion
Description of risk
• New laws, regulations or enforcement practices
could change or restrict how consumer information
is collected and used for marketing, risk management
and fraud detection.
Potential impact
• We may suffer increased costs or reduced revenue
resulting from modified business practices, adopting
new procedures or self-regulation.
How we manage this risk
• We educate lawmakers, regulators, consumer
and privacy advocates, industry trade groups
and other stakeholders in the public policy debate.
Change from 2013
Increasing risk
2014 update
Globally, data security and digital
privacy concerns continue to be a
primary legislative focus that might
broaden the definition of protected
personal information and restrict its
collection and use.
EXPOSURE TO INCREASING COMPETITION
We operate in a number of highly competitive geographic, product and service markets.
Performance indicator
EBIT and organic
revenue growth
Strategic alignment
• Product innovation
• New customer segments
• Geographic expansion
Further information
• Our business lines
section
Description of risk
• New or existing competitors may develop products
and services that are superior to ours, or achieve
greater market acceptance.
• New or existing competitors may be able to sell products
at lower prices than ours by accepting lower margins or
because they benefit from proprietary ownership of data,
technological superiority or economies of scale.
Potential impact
• Price reductions may reduce our margins, market
share and results of operations, and harm our ability
to obtain new customers or retain existing ones.
How we manage this risk
• We are committed to continued research and investment
in new data sources, people, technology and products
to support our strategic plan. We continue to focus on
developing new products that leverage our scale and
allow us to deploy capabilities into new and existing
markets and geographies.
Change from 2013
Increasing risk
2014 update
We are seeing an increasing number of
well-funded smaller competitors, with
new technologies or new approaches to
our markets, including email, business
and consumer credit. In addition, some
emerging markets are challenging the
transition to positive data, due to bank
data access and usage liability concerns.
Resolving these concerns could result
in greater direct control of data by these
banks. We continue to roll out several
new platforms across existing and new
markets. For further examples of these,
please refer to the Our strategy section
of the annual report.
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