What UC&C Leaders Need to Know About Compliance

Authors: Irwin Lazar, President and Principal Analyst Not available for licensing. Unified communications and collaboration (UC&C) has rapidly evolved in the last few years and will continue to undergo massive change. What was once an environment build around phones and email has grown into one where employees communicate internally and externally across an ever-increasing number of modalities, now including team chat, text, meeting apps, connected workspace apps, social and consumer messaging apps, and more. As the number of communication channels increases, so too does the challenge of assuring data completeness. Today, UC&C leaders face growing threats, including from the inappropriate use of approved channels leading to disclosure of personally identifiable information or engagement in abusive or unlawful conversations, as well as from employee use of off-channel communications that put data and business operations at risk. These challenges apply to both internal as well as external communications. Compliance concerns are most paramount among regulated industries, but all companies have the need to ensure that their communications are secure and auditable in accordance with operating law. Success requires a proactive approach to minimize risk of data loss and legal action. A proactive approach also allows organizations to use their internal data to uncover business insights and intelligence. Metrigy’s global Workplace Collaboration and Contact Center Security and Compliance: 2024-25 study found that, unfortunately, approximately 30% of the 338 participating companies have responded to compliance challenges by simply blocking access to emerging applications and features. This approach both negatively impacts the ability for employees to leverage emerging communications and collaboration applications and may inadvertently encourage individuals to use unapproved apps for their needs. Primary apps and features that are blocked are shown in Figure 1. To meet compliance needs, while improving communications and collaboration, business and IT leaders in both regulated and non-regulated organizations require a proactive strategy that recognizes risks, is adaptable to rapid change, and serves to allow employees to effectively communicate. A successful strategy both minimizes risk and fully realizes the business value of communications and collaboration investments.

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Table of Contents

• Meeting the Compliance Challenge
• Defining Compliance: What do UC&C Leaders Need to Know?
  • Key Requirements
• Emerging UC&C Compliance Challenges
• Risks of Non-Compliance
  • Regulatory Risk
  • Business Risk
• Strategies for Success
  • Build the Right Organization
  • Develop and Implement a Plan
  • Leverage Third-Party Compliance Platform Providers
• Conclusions and Recommendations