Messaging sprawl has gotten out of hand – with the need for the typical person to check multiple email accounts, potentially MS Teams, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, text, voicemail, to name just a few. Companies need to be where their customers are so they often have accounts on many of these platforms. If not, then their workers may – meaning consumers are directly communicating with the company’s employees in an unsanctioned manner.
“Unsanctioned” is a very formal term and perhaps implies it is only an issue for large bureaucratic organizations like Fortune 1,000 companies. We will get to large companies in a moment but even small companies can be hurt when a worker is communicating with a customer over a messaging network they do not control. For example, imagine a salesperson is about to close a million-dollar deal – they jump to a competitor and take the deal with them. Management might never know. Surely – this is a great way to ensure small companies never reach Fortune class.
For large companies, there are liability issues when communications aren’t tracked. Often this happens with regards to compliance – such as in financial services – but HIPAA in the medical field presents similar challenges.
In 2022, FINRA – the banking self-regulatory organization which operates under the Securities and Exchange Commission fined 16 Wall Street banks $1.8 billion for secretly using private messaging apps. FINRA’s mission is protecting investors and in order to do so it must actually be able to access the information investment advisors and bankers disseminate to them. If they do not have access to all communications – they obviously cannot complete their mission.
According to Bloomberg – texting fines have exceeded $2.5 billion when you add in the CFTC and SEC.
The issue of whether you can use a consumer messaging platform for communicating financial info is one matter – another is to do so in a way that cannot be tracked and audited. One way to audit these platforms is to have MS Teams act as a repository so all messages flow through Teams – regardless of where they originated – such as WhatsApp.
In addressing the challenges of messaging sprawl and unsanctioned communication, companies are increasingly looking towards innovative solutions like those offered by LeapXpert. Co-founded by Avi Pardo, Dima Gutzeit and Rina Charles, LeapXpert has developed a platform that effectively bridges the gap between consumer messaging apps and enterprise communication tools. We spoke with Avi and and VP Marketing, Ari Applbaum in an in-person interview, “No one has the range of integrations we support, including the voice layer, which sets us apart in the market.” said Applbaum. By centralizing communication channels into a single, auditable platform, LeapXpert ensures that all messages, regardless of their origin, flow through a controlled environment like MS Teams. This integration not only enhances security but also preserves corporate governance standards, crucial for sectors like financial services and legal industries where compliance and data ownership are paramount. As LeapXpert continues to expand its capabilities with AI-driven communication intelligence via its new Maxen solution and broader integration options, it solidifies its role as a critical tool for enterprises aiming to secure and streamline their communication strategies.
Other companies that play in this space are Mio and NextPlane – click on either name for the most recent content we have written.
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Aside from his role as CEO of TMC and chairman of ITEXPO #TECHSUPERSHOW, Rich Tehrani is CEO of RT Advisors and a Registered Representative (investment banker) with and offering securities through Four Points Capital Partners LLC (Four Points) (Member FINRA/SIPC). RT Advisors is not owned by Four Points.
The above is not an endorsement or recommendation to buy/sell any security or sector mentioned. No companies mentioned above are current or past clients of RT Advisors.
