Why you need robust administrative controls to deliver security and compliance in mobile messaging

The business landscape today includes a highly mobile workforce. A survey by Pew Research found that about a third (35 percent) of workers with jobs that can be done remotely are working from home all of the time and 41 percent of those with jobs that can be done remotely are working a hybrid schedule.

In the UK, according to the latest Chartered Institute of Personal Development (CIPD) report on flexible-hybrid working practices, 83 percent of organizations have a hybrid working approach in place. 45 percent of organizations have a formal policy, while 24 percent take an informal approach, and 13 percent are developing policies through learning and trialing. Overall, the number of people working from home some of the time has grown from 17 percent to 25 percent since the pandemic’s start, meaning a quarter of Brits are hybrid workers. Additionally, the UK Government’s proposal to make the right to request flexible working from day one, rather than after 26 weeks of employment, is likely to further escalate the amount of flexible working requests and likewise the number of employees working remotely.

It is worth noting that when working remotely, employees are not always at home. Remote work happens anywhere and everywhere; in coffee shops, co-working locations, libraries, restaurants, and all sorts of other locations. However, as the landscape of where work gets done continues to expand, so too do security and compliance risks.

The benefits of hybrid working are many

When looking at the wider impact of hybrid working, it has brought several positive outcomes. These include attracting and retaining talent as well as the ability to recruit from a wider geography and a more diverse workforce, as well as employee financial wellbeing.

But while remote working provides flexible work arrangements for employees, this workforce mobility presents major challenges for organizations, such as strengthening employees’ connection to the company’s purpose, and the ability of managers to lead teams effectively. It can also impact the culture of the organization and there are security and compliance challenges, in particular, when it comes to enterprise communication.

Whether an enterprise is in the public or private sector, whether employees are in the office or working remotely, secure and compliant communication on enterprise-authorized channels is crucial to enabling accountable decision-making. Therefore, companies need to implement policies that mandate the use of authorized communication channels by all employees within an organization. Such policies are vital not only for regulatory compliance but also for safeguarding data privacy and maintaining resilience against cyber threats.

This topic is particularly pertinent in financial services, with the SEC imposing fines totaling $1.1 billion on 16 firms including five affiliates of large banks for failing to maintain and preserve work-related electronic communications. Given 68 percent of workers still use their personal smartphones for both personal and business purposes and only 14 percent of organizations no longer allow the use of unapproved messaging services, the necessity of implementing secure and compliant technologies for business communications is clear.

More education around messaging platforms is needed

Incidents like the SEC fine have turned a spotlight onto the problems associated with using consumer-grade messaging platforms in a professional environment. These platforms are now ubiquitous for many people in their personal lives, and as more and more employees work outside of the office environment, so they mistakenly believe these are suitable communication tools for the workplace.

Indeed, consumer-grade apps have become deeply embedded in the UK government and the wider political world. According to The Institute for Government, between 13 percent and 31 percent of officials in some departments have these apps installed on their work phones. This can generate a host of problems with messages not being recorded properly, meaning historic decisions could go undocumented.

The truth is that consumer-grade messaging platforms were never built with the enterprise in mind. They lack the visibility, analytics, security, control, and archiving capabilities required for the workplace and with more folks working remotely this problem is only going to be exacerbated.

So how can organizations today be sure their distributed teams are communicating in a secure, compliant manner? 

Securely meeting demands for flexibility

The mobile workforce is here to stay, and today there are growing demands for certain types of flexible working. In fact, a lack of flexibility could prompt job and career changes. This means enterprises now need purpose-built real-time communication platforms with these robust administrative controls to embed data security and compliance into business communication across every channel. Only with these types of mobile messaging platforms will organizations be able to stop wondering and worrying if their business communication is as secure and compliant as it should be.

Image credit: dikaya_miau/depositphotos.com

Anurag Lal is CEO NetSfere. With more than 25 years of leadership and operating experience in technology, mobile, SaaS, cloud and telecom services, Anurag leads a talented team of innovators who are transforming everyday messaging technology into secure, highly scalable communication platforms that can be leveraged across a variety of markets and segments.