Harriet Christie, COO at MirrorWeb
In 2023,
digital archiving finds itself planted firmly in the corporate spotlight. The volume
of data being consumed is growing rapidly in all facets of life, and certainly in the workplace.
We have seen a proliferation of platforms and digital channels being used by
businesses, particularly post Covid-19, and while the sheer volume of
information has made it tougher to manage, the regulations governing it have
become more stringent. The tightrope is becoming increasingly difficult to
navigate.
Such
circumstances require careful adaptation, which is what we’re seeing in the
archiving space, particularly in financial services. We’ll look at 4
digital archiving trends that are occurring right now that will shape the
remainder of 2023.
Government
agencies like the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures
Trading Commission (CTFC) have increased their pace of rulemaking in recent
months. This comes after the introduction of the SEC’s new
marketing rule in November
2022, a seismic development that has led to a complete rethink of how firms
must handle their digital communications.
One might have
anticipated the regulator taking its foot off the gas with such an overhaul on
the horizon. On the contrary, recent reports show that the agency has been
drafting regulatory proposals just months ahead of schedule, accelerating a pace of rulemaking that had
already raised concerns over employee burnout. In August 2022, with firms
scrambling to ensure adherence to the
marketing rule, the commission released twice as many proposals as during the
entirety of 2021, and more than in any of the previous five years.
Keep Reading
Ephemeral
Messaging Apps
Referring back
to the new marketing rule, the update redefines the term ‘advertising’ in an
impactful way. The preceding, anachronistic ‘Advertising Rule’ had remained
largely unchanged since its adoption in 1961, an era of print media, TV and
radio. The new marketing rule formally addresses the technological advancements
that have since taken place, meaning that a significant number of digital
communications platforms (websites, email, social media) now find themselves
under regulatory scrutiny.
With ephemeral
messaging apps like WhatsApp, WeChat and Telegram, the urgency is even greater.
In September, the SEC and CTFC fined 16
leading financial firms (including Barclays, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley) a combined total
of almost $2 billion over digital record-keeping failures. Employees had used
personal devices to discuss business matters through WhatsApp, and these
communications were not archived.
Since then, the
SEC has broadened its scope to look beyond broker-dealers and into registered investment advisers (RIAs). These smaller RIAs are subject to
the same regulations as the firms that were previously penalised, and while
their non-compliance may be less notable, the SEC wishes to comprehensively
tackle this widespread cultural issue.
Digital
platforms are now not only a huge part of business operations but tools that
must be captured and archived for compliance purposes. This applies across the
board for digital channels in financial services, so coupled with the crackdown
on ephemeral messaging, many more firms should be roused into assessing their
policies as a matter of urgency.
Avoiding Expenses
With so many
more platforms now being archived, the requirements for digital data storage
have also grown dramatically. This is especially true given the quality of the data. In the case of websites, for example, dynamic elements are now
ubiquitous and must be captured to give a true representation of how
communications, or ‘advertisements’, are presented. Similarly, with so many
businesses relying on a more bespoke approach, e.g. through geolocation or CMS
personalization, the number of customer eventualities being captured (and
therefore the volume of data) has multiplied.
Compliance
teams will have their hands full, so high-level data processing and
searchability will become far more of a requirement for those that wish to
respond to audit and litigation requests in a timely manner. Further, it won’t
be efficient (or perhaps even possible) to manually root through the vast
swathes of data being accumulated, so advanced search features will become
more of a necessity, even for the smaller businesses for whom it may have
previously been deemed a luxury.
In meeting the
challenge of expanding data volumes, we can expect cloud-archiving solutions to
grow in popularity. They offer clear benefits, not least the scalability
required for all firms, from the smallest RIAs to the leading broker-dealers
stung by the WhatsApp probe. With cloud data archiving, organizations can avoid
the expenses associated with maintaining an on-site solution, whilst not making
any compromises on security. Cloud providers have invested heavily in
maintaining reliable infrastructure, and cloud data is encrypted in transit and
at rest.
Employee Satisfaction Takes Greater Precedence
Aside from the
technological progression and broadening possibilities, we’ll witness in 2023,
there is a human impact to consider. As the onus on compliance grows, the
role of compliance officers is becoming more challenging, with greater
individual responsibility due to myriad factors, such as the frequent
re-evaluation of what rules they’re being held accountable to.
Last year,
Corporate Compliance Insights conducted a survey on working conditions, stress, and mental
health issues amongst compliance personnel. When sharing the results, it became
clear that there is still a lot of work to be done. 59% of respondents reported
that they felt ‘burnt out’, with the greatest concern (69%) being that of the
pace of changing regulations. As mentioned at the start of this article, that
pace has only accelerated in recent months.
In an
increasingly volatile and challenging landscape, compliance staff must be kept
happy and supported with tools that will make their job not just manageable,
but enjoyable. By simplifying compliance processes and reducing the burden on
individuals, businesses can free up hours in the day, cut stress levels and
minimize the likelihood of human error, ultimately improving employee
satisfaction.
How to Tackle the Year Ahead
As with most
recent years in the digital archiving space, 2023 is set to continue moving on
an upward trajectory.
A growing
reliance on remote communications in the workplace has led to a proliferation
of digital messaging platforms, which has led to a surge in data consumption,
and, in turn, has led to stricter governance from the regulators in order to
ensure corporate accountability.
This
information, which must be recorded and stored, puts a strain on data capacity,
leading to greater reliance on cloud-based infrastructure. The abundance of
data which must be managed, as well as some monumental fines from the
regulators, lead to a stressful time for those in charge of handling
compliance.
These factors
are all interconnected and lead to one destination: the need for greater
compliance resources in regulated businesses, whether through additional
personnel or third-party solutions. As regulations continue to tighten,
consultancy is key, and data archiving experts can unburden busy staff by providing up-to-date advice on how to best meet those
regulations.
While
regulatory demands and enforcement actions have increased significantly in
recent months, an exhaustive record-keeping strategy will ensure that no nasty
surprises await in 2023.
Related Articles
In 2023,
digital archiving finds itself planted firmly in the corporate spotlight. The volume
of data being consumed is growing rapidly in all facets of life, and certainly in the workplace.
We have seen a proliferation of platforms and digital channels being used by
businesses, particularly post Covid-19, and while the sheer volume of
information has made it tougher to manage, the regulations governing it have
become more stringent. The tightrope is becoming increasingly difficult to
navigate.
Such
circumstances require careful adaptation, which is what we’re seeing in the
archiving space, particularly in financial services. We’ll look at 4
digital archiving trends that are occurring right now that will shape the
remainder of 2023.
Government
agencies like the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures
Trading Commission (CTFC) have increased their pace of rulemaking in recent
months. This comes after the introduction of the SEC’s new
marketing rule in November
2022, a seismic development that has led to a complete rethink of how firms
must handle their digital communications.
One might have
anticipated the regulator taking its foot off the gas with such an overhaul on
the horizon. On the contrary, recent reports show that the agency has been
drafting regulatory proposals just months ahead of schedule, accelerating a pace of rulemaking that had
already raised concerns over employee burnout. In August 2022, with firms
scrambling to ensure adherence to the
marketing rule, the commission released twice as many proposals as during the
entirety of 2021, and more than in any of the previous five years.
Keep Reading
Ephemeral
Messaging Apps
Referring back
to the new marketing rule, the update redefines the term ‘advertising’ in an
impactful way. The preceding, anachronistic ‘Advertising Rule’ had remained
largely unchanged since its adoption in 1961, an era of print media, TV and
radio. The new marketing rule formally addresses the technological advancements
that have since taken place, meaning that a significant number of digital
communications platforms (websites, email, social media) now find themselves
under regulatory scrutiny.
With ephemeral
messaging apps like WhatsApp, WeChat and Telegram, the urgency is even greater.
In September, the SEC and CTFC fined 16
leading financial firms (including Barclays, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley) a combined total
of almost $2 billion over digital record-keeping failures. Employees had used
personal devices to discuss business matters through WhatsApp, and these
communications were not archived.
Harriet Christie, COO at MirrorWeb
Since then, the
SEC has broadened its scope to look beyond broker-dealers and into registered investment advisers (RIAs). These smaller RIAs are subject to
the same regulations as the firms that were previously penalised, and while
their non-compliance may be less notable, the SEC wishes to comprehensively
tackle this widespread cultural issue.
Digital
platforms are now not only a huge part of business operations but tools that
must be captured and archived for compliance purposes. This applies across the
board for digital channels in financial services, so coupled with the crackdown
on ephemeral messaging, many more firms should be roused into assessing their
policies as a matter of urgency.
Avoiding Expenses
With so many
more platforms now being archived, the requirements for digital data storage
have also grown dramatically. This is especially true given the quality of the data. In the case of websites, for example, dynamic elements are now
ubiquitous and must be captured to give a true representation of how
communications, or ‘advertisements’, are presented. Similarly, with so many
businesses relying on a more bespoke approach, e.g. through geolocation or CMS
personalization, the number of customer eventualities being captured (and
therefore the volume of data) has multiplied.
Compliance
teams will have their hands full, so high-level data processing and
searchability will become far more of a requirement for those that wish to
respond to audit and litigation requests in a timely manner. Further, it won’t
be efficient (or perhaps even possible) to manually root through the vast
swathes of data being accumulated, so advanced search features will become
more of a necessity, even for the smaller businesses for whom it may have
previously been deemed a luxury.
In meeting the
challenge of expanding data volumes, we can expect cloud-archiving solutions to
grow in popularity. They offer clear benefits, not least the scalability
required for all firms, from the smallest RIAs to the leading broker-dealers
stung by the WhatsApp probe. With cloud data archiving, organizations can avoid
the expenses associated with maintaining an on-site solution, whilst not making
any compromises on security. Cloud providers have invested heavily in
maintaining reliable infrastructure, and cloud data is encrypted in transit and
at rest.
Employee Satisfaction Takes Greater Precedence
Aside from the
technological progression and broadening possibilities, we’ll witness in 2023,
there is a human impact to consider. As the onus on compliance grows, the
role of compliance officers is becoming more challenging, with greater
individual responsibility due to myriad factors, such as the frequent
re-evaluation of what rules they’re being held accountable to.
Last year,
Corporate Compliance Insights conducted a survey on working conditions, stress, and mental
health issues amongst compliance personnel. When sharing the results, it became
clear that there is still a lot of work to be done. 59% of respondents reported
that they felt ‘burnt out’, with the greatest concern (69%) being that of the
pace of changing regulations. As mentioned at the start of this article, that
pace has only accelerated in recent months.
In an
increasingly volatile and challenging landscape, compliance staff must be kept
happy and supported with tools that will make their job not just manageable,
but enjoyable. By simplifying compliance processes and reducing the burden on
individuals, businesses can free up hours in the day, cut stress levels and
minimize the likelihood of human error, ultimately improving employee
satisfaction.
How to Tackle the Year Ahead
As with most
recent years in the digital archiving space, 2023 is set to continue moving on
an upward trajectory.
A growing
reliance on remote communications in the workplace has led to a proliferation
of digital messaging platforms, which has led to a surge in data consumption,
and, in turn, has led to stricter governance from the regulators in order to
ensure corporate accountability.
This
information, which must be recorded and stored, puts a strain on data capacity,
leading to greater reliance on cloud-based infrastructure. The abundance of
data which must be managed, as well as some monumental fines from the
regulators, lead to a stressful time for those in charge of handling
compliance.
These factors
are all interconnected and lead to one destination: the need for greater
compliance resources in regulated businesses, whether through additional
personnel or third-party solutions. As regulations continue to tighten,
consultancy is key, and data archiving experts can unburden busy staff by providing up-to-date advice on how to best meet those
regulations.
While
regulatory demands and enforcement actions have increased significantly in
recent months, an exhaustive record-keeping strategy will ensure that no nasty
surprises await in 2023.
The post Data Volumes Are Growing Rapidly, and so is the Need to Archive Them appeared first on Forex Markets Live.
