2023 was a pivotal year in digital communications governance. In the US, regulatory bodies imposed hundreds of millions in fines, extending their reach from banks to broker-dealers, investment advisers, and credit rating agencies. Similar actions were observed in the UK, with regulatory bodies sanctioning banks and fining firms for non-compliance in trading communications.
For 2024, Theta Lake predicts a broader regulatory focus on communications compliance. Here are its predictions for the year.
- The $2.6bn+ in fines imposed in recent years were largely due to failure in capturing communications. However, fines are now also being imposed for data mismanagement, including deletion errors, retrieval challenges, and poor supervision.
- The issue extends beyond platforms like WhatsApp. With 74% of firms acknowledging the use of unmonitored communication channels, regulators are now scrutinizing all communication types. Comprehensive capture of all channels, including voice and in-meeting chats, along with contextual elements such as emojis and deletions, is becoming a priority.
- The industry is also witnessing the decline of traditional desk phones, moving towards cloud-based UC systems. These systems integrate voice, SMS, chat, video, and collaboration tools across various devices and locations. This shift necessitates updated compliance approaches, moving away from traditional voice or email-specific recording and archiving tools.
- There’s a growing dissatisfaction with existing archiving tools, with 98% of firms seeking more unified compliance archives. The challenges with siloed systems are evident, leading to increased fines and a push towards integrated archiving solutions that span multiple communication modalities.
- Senior management is increasingly held accountable for compliance failures, with regulatory bodies imposing sanctions and firms taking internal actions like clawbacks and dismissals. In 2024, communications compliance is expected to be a central topic in boardrooms, with a significant portion of firms already elevating it to board-level importance.
- Generative AI is becoming integral in workplaces, with 18% of firms already heavily relying on it. Its adoption is anticipated to grow, necessitating enhanced communications capture and creating new compliance requirements.
- The use of AI in compliance is becoming mainstream, enabling firms to identify risks more effectively. However, with rising regulatory demands for transparency, firms must ensure transparent oversight and explainability of AI models and outcomes.
- Reconciliation of captured communications is emerging as a key compliance priority. Firms must demonstrate that they have accurately captured all relevant communications to satisfy regulatory requirements.
- The disabling of core UCC features due to existing tool limitations is proving costly. Firms are not only missing out on productivity gains but also driving staff towards unmonitored channels.
- In the context of data being ‘the new oil’, firms are demanding control over their data to unlock its potential. Issues around data consolidation, economies of scale, and eliminating migration costs are becoming paramount.
Theta Lake, supported by Cisco, RingCentral, Salesforce, and Zoom, offers a comprehensive compliance and security suite for modern collaboration platforms. Its services include seamless searching across various communication modes, patented AI and ML for risk detection, and comprehensive messaging preservation. Theta Lake’s advanced security and privacy architecture, STAR3, ensures data and system security, integrity, and privacy, meeting various certifications and undergoing regular penetration testing.
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