Nearly half of businesses (48%) admit they are not ready for new data regulations like the EU’s GDPR, a study has founded.

The General Data Protection Regulation, which will fine businesses up to €20 million or 4% of global annual turnover for non-compliance, comes into force in May 2018. But many companies are unprepared.

In the survey by Experian, 72% of firms also said data quality issues had affected trust and perception by their customers, who are increasingly aware of the value of their data and their vulnerability if it’s not handled appropriately.

With more customer interactions now taking place online, there is a growing challenge for businesses. Four in five surveyed said continue to face difficulties in achieving a single customer view, while 64% conceded that inaccurate data is undermining their ability to provide good customer experience.

>See also: GDPR: What do you need to know?

Senior data professionals are required to deliver the necessary cultural change. Seven in ten of the companies surveyed agreed that increasing regulation has driven the need for better data analytics and management.

Three in ten businesses said they plan to hire a data protection officer in the next 12 months, one of the requirements of GDPR for organisations of a certain size. And 37% plan to recruit ‘data champions’ and ‘data steward’ roles in 2017.

“We now live in a world built on data, and companies of all sizes are in possession of more information about their customers than ever before,” says Experian’s Rebecca Hennessy. “Companies have always been hamstrung by data quality issues, but with the imminent enforcement of new regulations it is now operationally critical for them to get their data management right.”