December 14, 2021 | Stamford, CT — Financial service firms are spending more than ever on surveillance technology, but the explosion of new communications channels like Zoom and Microsoft Teams could be creating dangerous gaps in the compliance infrastructure. 

From a compliance perspective, financial service firms faced their biggest-ever challenge during the industry’s historic transition to remote working environments in 2020. The industry has risen to that challenge by investing in the technology and processes required to extend their internal compliance frameworks to remote locations. Market-wide, budgets for surveillance technology are estimated to have expanded by over 15% in 2021 and are expected to surpass $1.5 billion in 2022.

However, even as financial service firms upgraded their capabilities, employees working from home and now back in the office are embracing new communications channels. The proliferation of videoconferencing, video chat and other new channels creates the risks of gaps or “black holes” in communications surveillance that could leave firms vulnerable. 

“Data capture remains a persistent stumbling block in the communications surveillance world and is important for compliance officers as the number of communication channels used by financial services professionals grows,” says Danielle Tierney, Senior Advisor in the Coalition Greenwich Market Structure and Technology group and author of Monitoring the Silence: Illuminating Black Holes in Communications Surveillance.

Monitoring the Silence: Illuminating Black Holes in Communications Surveillance examines how financial services firms are approaching the task of thorough data capture, challenges in data processing infrastructure and technology options to help firms patch infrastructure holes and overcome challenges in improving legacy approaches. The report concludes that advances in vendor technology are creating new opportunities for financial services firms to keep up with innovations in communications channels and enhance the robustness of their overall compliance infrastructure. 

“Data-capture capabilities have improved exponentially with many vendors now facilitating comprehensive or agnostic channel coverage,” says Kevin McPartland, Head of Research in the Coalition Greenwich Market Structure and Technology group.  “In addition, the use of advanced processing algorithms and the incorporation of AI/deep-learning models has grown more commonplace and effective than previously seen.”