In this episode we’ll chat with HP about the evolving endpoint security and threat landscape in 2026. We’ll discuss the impact of AI for both attack and defense, the growing risk of cookie-based attacks, increasing risks to enterprise devices, how quantum computing will impact security strategies, how organizations should think about security incident management going forward, and how they should unify hardware and software security management to minimize risk.

Businesses have come to rely on a host of communication tools, including video meetings and chat, for connecting with employees, partners, and customers. While these tools have proven extremely important, businesses still require traditional calling capabilities. Metrigy’s Employee Engagement Optimization: 2025 global study of 400 businesses found that for 68% of participants, the phone system remains critical for communications. The importance of the traditional phone call has not gone away.From the retailer to the doctor’s office, high school office, municipal water department, and beyond, the phone system remains critical for interfacing with customers and partners. The ability to receive and send calls is critical for the foreseeable future, but where the calling system resides and how it is managed continues to undergo a transformation as businesses migrate their phone systems to the cloud and managed service providers.

Download and read this issue paper at clearspancloud.com.

As we move deeper into 2026, the intersection of workplace collaboration, customer experience (CX), and artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the enterprise. But as we accelerate into this “AI” era, a critical divide has emerged. At Metrigy, in each of our studies we identify a success group—companies that consistently see higher ROI, better productivity, and superior CSAT from their technology investments compared to the non-success group.What sets them apart? They don’t view compliance as a “gatekeeper” or a bureaucratic tax. Instead, they treat it as a strategic foundation that enables them to deploy high-value emerging technologies faster and more safely than their peers.Based on our global Workplace Collaboration and Contact Center Security and Compliance: 2026 study of 307 organizations, here are five key lessons for leaders looking to turn compliance into a competitive differentiator.

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.

AI meeting assistants now come packed with powerful features to improve employee productivity and meeting workflows. So, which AI tool is best for your organization?

AI meeting assistants are a fundamental part of today’s collaboration productivity suites. Among other capabilities, they automate note capture, summarize meetings, capture follow-on action items, enable quick catch-up for participants who are late to meetings and even translate meeting audio.

AI assistant adoption rates are projected to grow steadily in 2026, with 42% of 1,100 companies polled in Metrigy’s “AI for Business Success: 2025-26” global research study reporting they plan to roll out AI meeting assistants in the next year. The study found that almost 40% of participants had already deployed the technology in their operations.

What to expect in an AI meeting assistant

Continue reading at techtarget.com.

This article was originally written by Beth Schultz and updated by Irwin Lazar to refresh out-of-date data and provide insights into new AI meeting assistant capabilities.

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What’s the News?

Metrigy’s recently published Workplace Collaboration and Contact Center Security and Compliance: 2026 global study of 305 organizations notes organizations are increasing their efforts to ensure compliance as AI dramatically reshapes internal and customer-facing communications. Compliance leaders are now heavily involved in application selection and roll-out, with 71.9% of participants saying that compliance officers provide app selection guidance, and nearly 57% saying that compliance teams must approve new communications apps.

Unfortunately, just half (49.8%) of companies have implemented a structured security and compliance program to protect their data assets and applications. Nineteen percent combat risks by blocking apps or turning off features such as meeting recording and transcription, AI copilots, or employee video creation. Often the “just say no” approach leads to the rise of shadow IT, with employees resorting to using unapproved applications, like AI notetakers, outside of IT control. Shadow IT creates potential risk of data loss, and as we’ve seen repeatedly over the last few years, the potential for large fines resulting from the use of non-compliant unsecure and unmonitored communications channels.

Proactive Strategy = Real World Benefits

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Kick off the year with Metrigy analysts, who share what’s top of mind for them in customer experience and workplace collaboration as 2026 gets underway.

Continue reading at techtarget.com.

Continue reading at techtarget.com.