The Impact of New Communication Tools for Financial Services Firms

About This Whitepaper

This white paper discusses some of the newer technologies in use by financial services firms, some of the variety of regulations imposed upon these firms, and offers advice on what organizations should do to mitigate the risks created by use of new communication technologies. It also discusses the sponsor of this white paper, FaceTime, and its new offerings that specifically address the issues addressed in this document.

Communications in the Financial Services Industry

GROWING ADOPTION OF UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS:
Both voicemail integration and enterprise instant messaging hold up the promise of speeding up business processes and streamlining communication between people, particularly in the financial services industry. Voicemail integration with email inboxes means that end users can get their voicemail from wherever they get email, thus eliminating voice messages as a separate and siloed place. Enterprise instant messaging, when combined with presence, gives a clear indication of when people are available for interaction, irrespective of their location or time zone.

Instant messaging plays a critical role in the financial services industry and it has for years. For example, the Financial Services Instant Messaging Association – formed by seven  financial services firms – was founded in 2002 and reflected the early adopter nature of financial services firms in the context of instant messaging. As further evidence of the important role of instant messaging in the financial services industry, in June 2003 the NASD (now FINRA) required regulated financial services firms to archive their relevant instant messaging conversations just as they archive emails.

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