1. Elevate Compliance to the C-Suite
The data is clear: Success starts with leadership. More 84% of our success group has a Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) or equivalent, compared to just 51.0% of non-successful organizations. When compliance has a seat at the table, it moves from being a reactive department to a proactive enabler.
2. Guidance Over Approval
One of the most surprising findings in our research is the role the CCO plays in app selection. Success group companies are significantly more likely to involve the CCO before deployment:
- Workplace collaboration: 79.3% of the success group receive CCO guidance before rolling out new collaboration apps, versus 65.0% for companies with low or no measurable success
- Contact center: 71.6% of the success group receive early CCO guidance for CX platforms before purchase and deployment, versus 65.9% for companies with low or no measurable success
Interestingly, there is no significant difference between the groups when it comes to requiring final CCO approval. This suggests that the value lies in early strategic alignment rather than late-stage gatekeeping.
3. Move Beyond “Native” Tools
While most platforms offer basic built-in compliance, the success group understands that a multi-vendor, AI-driven environment requires more. Currently, 42.2% of the success group uses a third-party compliance management platform, nearly double the rate of those with no or low measurable business success for their collaboration investments. Dedicated compliance platforms provide a “single pane of glass” to manage risk across all collaboration modalities, including voice, messaging, meetings, and documents, as well as across customer engagement channels.
4. Harness Compliance Data for Business Intelligence
Here is where the competitive advantage truly kicks in. Nearly 70% of companies in our study now use compliance data for business intelligence. By leveraging the data already being captured for regulatory reasons, leaders can identify:
- Internal and customer-facing discussion topics
- Productivity and workflow bottlenecks
- Emerging risks and incidents
5. Standardize the Audit Cadence
Finally, successful organizations don’t treat compliance as a “one and done” event. They audit their collaboration and contact center apps annually at significantly higher rates (85.3% and 90.3%, respectively) than the non-success group. On average, these audits take between 26 and 27 hours—a small price to pay for the “moat” of trust and reliability it builds for the brand.
The Bottom Line
In 2026, you cannot have an AI-based workplace collaboration and customer engagement strategy without compliance. Organizations that embed compliance leaders into the technology lifecycle early don’t just stay out of trouble—they build the agility and trust necessary to lead the market.
