UC Today: Using a UC Platform should NOT be a Career-Limiting-Move

A trader at a Swiss Bank was sacked for using “unapproved communications channels” with clients, the Financial Times reported recently. An easy mistake anyone can make. The rapid adoption of apps such as WhatsApp and Unified Communications (UC) platforms has fueled fast hybrid work growth. Zoom, Slack and Microsoft Teams are now household names. Firms use their messaging services almost universally. But those messaging platforms represent an axe-induced headache for compliance decision-makers. Regulators are now penalizing firms in regulated industries for any non-compliant use of messaging systems.  Firms can comply in two ways.

Legacy Compliance Technologies (but UC is banned!)

UC platforms coupled with integrated legacy compliance technologies are a possible solution. But they can’t do what regulators universally stipulate: that all conversations, messages and other communications (including SMS, Chat, emojis and reactions) must be captured, retained and supervised. For firms and their executives to be compliant, most UC features therefore must be prohibited. That is the business equivalent of turning up to a gunfight with a toothbrush, with organizations struggling to remain productive in the hybrid workplace. Apoplectic employees may tempt firms to ignore denying them effective use of collaboration tools and apps. They will then risk huge fines for their employers and may end up being fired and elevating the risk for their employers.