Until recently, sending a message to a prospective client or a stakeholder through mobile instant messaging (IM) applications was deemed unprofessional. But what was earlier unconventional has now become mainstream and pragmatic. When times change, we are to embrace novelty (or in this case, the unconventional).
WhatsApp has become one of the most common mobile IM apps of all time, with the number of users and correspondingly, the number of messages exchanged, over the platform continually reaching record numbers. For those who have experienced the shift to a perennial ‘home’ work atmosphere, WhatsApp also offers a convenient and friendly business communication tool.
However, in East Asia, WhatsApp is not the most used mobile chat. China has WeChat as the most popular IM app while Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia all claim Line as the most popular IM app. All these apps are now being used by employees for business purposes, even when they are not overtly allowed or supported by their employers. Companies must convey to their employees that they breach company and legal regulations when they fail to archive messages they send in a business context.
Leading firms, like JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and British Petroleum have sacked their employees for non-compliance to regulations, due to WhatsApp or WeChat usage for official purposes. In addition to IM communication channels, like WhatsApp, WeChat, Telegram, and Signal, companies must also reckon with traditional basic voice calls, SMS and MMS, different types of corporate phone ownership policies Companies must implement solutions that capture and route the IM messages and phone communication to their e-discovery surveillance archiving solution in which: message flow to any of the standard eDiscovery platforms used by the firms is possible, no metadata is lost and data privacy is assured. Furthermore, these solutions and employee compliance should be tested regularly.
The TeleMessage WhatsApp archiving solution supports differentiation between personal WhatsApp and business WhatsApp by using either two separate applications, or by using two separate phone numbers on the same phone.
About TeleMessage
TeleMessage captures and retains mobile content, including mobile SMS messages, voice calls, and WeChat and WhatsApp conversations from corporate or BYOD mobile phones to ensure compliance with various data protection regulations. The messages are securely and reliably retained within TeleMessage servers or forwarded to your choice of data storage vendor.
Our mobile archiving products securely record content from mobile carriers and mobile devices for various ownership models (BYOD, CYOD, and employer-issued). With our multiple archiving solutions, you can always find the right tools or blend for your requirements:
- Network Archiver
- Enterprise Number Archiver
- Android Archiver
- WhatsApp Archiver
- WeChat Archiver
- Signal Archiver
- Telegram Archiver
TeleMessage offers cross-carrier and international mobile text & calls archiving for corporate and BYOD phones. Visit our website at www.telemessage.com to learn more about our mobile archiving products.
