Boardroom Focus: Communications Compliance

Communications Compliance is Taking Center Stage in the Boardroom

Within the modern governance landscape in financial services, communications compliance has emerged as a critical issue, spurred by the staggering fines for unmonitored communications that have surpassed $2 billion USD in the United States alone. In February 2024, an additional 16 firms faced SEC fines totaling $81 million, signaling a zero-tolerance stance by regulators against compliance violations.

The Cisco and Theta Lake partnership, established in 2018, reflects a strategic response to these challenges. Theta Lake enhances the security and compliance features of Cisco's Webex collaboration suite. This joint solution ensures institutions can safely harness the power of Webex's functionalities, while significantly reducing the risk of penalties, increasing user satisfaction, and enhancing ROI (return on investment).

Theta Lake's "Digital Communications Governance, Compliance, and Security Survey" for 2023/24, sheds light on the evolving landscape. With independent responses from over 600 IT and compliance professionals, the Theta Lake report reveals that 40% of firms have now elevated communications compliance to a board-level concern, underscoring the pressing demand for a revamped compliance and security framework for Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) tools that are integral to the modern workplace.

Why Are Firms Reevaluating Their Communications Compliance Strategies?

The survey indicates a widespread reassessment of communications compliance strategies in financial services, with 77% of respondents revising their approaches, 17% planning to do so, and 45% considering a complete overhaul. Traditional methods often fail to seamlessly capture, retain, and supervise across diverse communication platforms, leading to inefficiencies and compliance lapses. To counter these challenges, organizations are restricting key features that users want and need, inadvertently pushing employees towards unmonitored channels.

Theta Lake, in partnership with Cisco Webex, offers a purpose-built compliance, supervision, and security solution that integrates seamlessly across the Webex Suite, whether content is displayed, shared, spoken, or written. This solution brings significant value to leading organizations, including some of Webex's largest customers-six of the top ten North American banks.

Where Should Organizations Begin When Overhauling Their Digital Communications Strategy?

Addressing compliance complexities requires a structured, proactive approach. In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, organizations must anticipate regulatory expectations and strategically overhaul their digital communications governance.

Cisco and Theta Lake recommend a three-point strategy:

• Effective Data Capture: Accurate and reliable record keeping starts by capturing the correct data at its source, along with its context and time of origin. This step is crucial for reconciliation and reporting.
• Record Navigation: With comprehensive record keeping across various channels, searching and navigating records and their interwoven communications becomes both possible and efficient.
• AI-Enhanced Compliance Scaling: AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology, specifically tailored for compliance, helps manage and oversee vast amounts of communication records, enabling institutions to identify and mitigate risks and maintain robust compliance standards.

Theta Lake: A Cisco SolutionsPlus Partner

The Cisco SolutionsPlus program features tested Cisco Compatible products. As a SolutionsPlus partner focused on collaboration and security, Theta Lake's solution for the Webex Suite is available for purchase through the Cisco price list. This includes fully compliant capture, archiving (in existing systems or Theta Lake's SEC-17a-4 compliant environment), and built-in policy-based AI-enabled risk detection/remediation/redaction capabilities for:

• Webex Calling & Customer Experience Essentials (New!): Voice Recordings, Business Texts (SMS), and Call Detail Records.
• Webex Meetings & Selective In-Meeting Communications: Video recordings, and selective archiving of any or all meeting components including audio or in-meeting eComms (such as chat, polling, Q&A, transcripts, and closed captioning).
• Webex Messaging: All content, replies, and reactions-including files and rich media (like images and GIFs).
• Polling/Slido: All content including polls, Q&A, surveys, and more.
• Webex Connect: Archiving & supervision support of log exports via SMTP or Rest API for SMS and omnichannel content.

In an era of intense regulatory oversight, Cisco and Theta Lake's joint solutions have transitioned from a strategic asset to an essential requirement for financial services organizations aiming to ensure robust communications compliance.

The full Theta Lake "Digital Communications Governance, Compliance, and Security Survey" 2023/24 can be downloaded here and check out our Portfolio Explorer for more information on the use cases that Cisco supports in the Financial Services industry.

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