Automation Adoption Dataset v2026.1
PCI DSS automation rates by industry from 2020–2026 across 4,721 compliance programmes
Data Preview — Industry Automation by Year
| industry | rate_2026 | rate_2024 | rate_2022 | rate_2020 | yoy_delta_pp | rank | sample_size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| fintech | 72% | 62% | 48% | 28% | +10pp | #2 | 810 |
| saas | 74% | 63% | 51% | 31% | +11pp | #1 | 920 |
| financial_services | 62% | 55% | 42% | 24% | +7pp | #3 | 480 |
| healthcare | 42% | 34% | 28% | 18% | +8pp | #5 | 560 |
| ecommerce | 55% | 46% | 36% | 22% | +9pp | #4 | 620 |
| retail | 48% | 40% | 31% | 19% | +8pp | #6 | 540 |
| hospitality | 35% | 21% | 16% | 10% | +14pp | #7 | 310 |
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Full time-series dataset as CSV with yearly rate columns and area-level breakdowns.
Download CSVFrequently Asked Questions
What counts as "automated" in this dataset?
A compliance task is classified as automated if it is performed by a software system without direct human initiation for each instance. This includes automated evidence collection, continuous monitoring alerts, scheduled scanning, and policy-as-code enforcement. Manual review of automated outputs is still counted as automated for the triggering action.
Why is SaaS leading automation adoption?
SaaS companies have native advantages: cloud-first infrastructure with API-accessible logs, DevSecOps culture integrating compliance into CI/CD pipelines, smaller and more homogeneous cardholder data environments, and earlier adoption of Infrastructure-as-Code practices that translate directly into automated compliance controls.
How is YoY automation delta calculated?
YoY delta is the difference in percentage points (pp) between the current year cohort median and the prior year cohort median for the same industry. It is not a percentage change of the percentage — a move from 50% to 60% is reported as +10pp, not +20%.