New research from Wordwatch reveals legacy risk in communications compliance archiving for regulated organisations
An independent survey of 250 senior UK-based IT, telephony, contact centre, and compliance professionals operating in regulated industries has found that almost half of organisations are relying on outdated, unsupported systems to manage their interaction records, opening themselves up to escalating IT costs and regulatory risks.
Wordwatch, a provider of compliance archiving and records management solutions, has today released findings from the survey, which uncovers significant challenges faced by organisations in effectively managing their interaction recordings. With 93% of organisations saying they are required to retain interaction recordings for up to 10 years due to regulatory rules, 79% are maintaining two or more legacy recording systems. Rather worryingly, 44% admitted to using at least one legacy recording system that is ‘end of life’ so is no longer supported.
In response, Wordwatch has launched a new whitepaper, The Cost of Doing Nothing: The Risks and Solutions for Compliance Archiving and Records Management. The report provides a comprehensive analysis of the current landscape and offers actionable strategies to help organisations mitigate these risks and future-proof their operations.
Key Research Findings:
√ Legacy system dependency: A staggering 44% of businesses report that at least one of their legacy recording systems is either end-of-life or unsupported, posing serious risks to compliance and data security.
√ Multiple systems: Over two thirds are maintaining more than three recording systems – specifically 39% are still maintaining at least two legacy systems alongside their current platform, while a further 28% manage three or more.
√ Manual processes: More than half of organisations still rely on manual processes to monitor the regulatory status of their data records, increasing the likelihood of human error and non-compliance.
√ Regulatory risk: More than a quarter of respondents cited regulatory risk or financial penalties as their top concern regarding their communications recordings, while 20% were worried about the ability to retrieve specific records when needed.
√ Consolidation: When asked about the storage of voice and digital communications recordings, over three quarters (76%) confirmed they currently use different systems for each channel. 36% of these acknowledged that they would benefit from a unified management system.
Addressing the Findings: The Cost of Doing Nothing Whitepaper
To address the challenges, Wordwatch’s new whitepaper provides a detailed view of the risks associated with maintaining outdated call and interaction recording systems and outlines practical solutions to streamline operations, reduce costs, and enhance compliance.
The whitepaper delves into the complexities of managing both live and legacy systems, highlighting the financial, operational and compliance-related risks of inaction.
William Davenport, Chief Sales Officer (CSO), Wordwatch said,
“Our research clearly shows that many regulated organisations are at a critical point when it comes to compliance archiving. The risks of maintaining outdated systems are simply too high; from regulatory penalties to data breaches. Our whitepaper, The Cost of Doing Nothing, is a call to action for organisations to streamline and modernise their records management processes and safeguard their operations for the future.”
The whitepaper also introduces Wordwatch’s innovative solutions, designed to help businesses consolidate their interaction records into a single, unified platform, ensuring data integrity, regulatory compliance, and cost efficiency. Recognised for its impact on the industry, Wordwatch has been named on the DataTech50 List, which identifies the brands transforming data management in financial services, highlighting its role as a solution for modernising compliance and records management.
Concludes William Davenport: “We encourage professionals involved in communications, compliance, IT, and records management within regulated industries to download the whitepaper and explore the solutions presented. After all, we believe that the cost of doing nothing is too high to ignore.”
To download the wordwatch whitepaper Click Here
Wordwatch provides compliance archiving and records management solutions. The Wordwatch tool allows clients to search, replay, and manage live and archived communications data in a “single pane of glass” portal to simplify compliance and IT architecture. When organisations implement Wordwatch, they benefit from user-friendly access to features that help to streamline architecture, manage risk, demonstrate compliance through advanced reporting and generate more value from their data.
For additional information on Wordwatch visit their Website
Survey Methodology: Using online interviews methodology, Danebury Research conducted a survey of 250 UK-based IT professionals working in banking, investment and insurance. Fieldwork was conducted from 11 April to 15 April 2024.
