We sought insights from our CEO, Johan Junge, regarding the challenges businesses face in establishing a secure and compliant setup for customer communication. Here's his perspective on effectively maintaining compliance in this critical aspect.
What are the key business concerns in today's environment?
Businesses today grapple with two primary concerns: ensuring compliant customer communication and securing compliant Customer Communication Management (CCM) and Customer Experience Management (CXM) platforms.
The challenge in customer communication compliance lies in the fact that IT and Development often manage the process without true ownership. With legacy solutions and ad-hoc digital tools developed over time, legal teams and other stakeholders struggle to influence changes due to the dependency on IT and Development. This disconnect is exacerbated when employees use personal templates for communication, creating a compliance blind spot. Additionally, reliance on external print service providers can lead to delays and a lack of control over timely compliance-related updates.
When it comes to CCM and CXM platform security and compliance, businesses are hesitant to migrate from on-premises solutions to cloud-based platforms. The hesitation stems from a complex regulatory landscape and not knowing how to implement a cloud-based CCM or CXM strategy in a compliant way and a lack of expertise in cloud migration strategies. This is a significant concern, given the industry's shift towards a cloud-first approach.
How are businesses addressing their compliance concerns?
Traditionally, businesses adhere to a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy, especially for non-marketing communications, which are seen as non-core and resource intensive. IT will address it if the need is too big to ignore, for example when it comes to new regulatory requirements. However, this reactive stance often leads to compliance issues and delayed project delivery. The same is valid for instances where this is outsourced to a print service provider, who with their inherit print focus often are slower to market with digital solutions.
Comparably, cloud migration decisions are frequently postponed due to compliance fears, with some businesses choosing to outsource this responsibility altogether.
What is your recommendation for robust compliance management?
To maintain compliance, it's essential for legal teams and stakeholders to assume ownership of communication, recognizing its importance to customer experience and business value. Investing in a unified, modern cloud-based CCM/CXM platform can streamline communication across various media, eliminate outdated legacy systems, and reduce dependency on IT and external providers. A focus on organizing communication efforts through a Center of Excellence model can ensure compliance efficiency.
For a secure and compliant cloud-based CCM/CXM platform, organizations should focus on technological, organizational, and contractual safeguards. Technologically, control over data usage and retention, coupled with advanced encryption, is paramount. Organizationally, partnering with a vendor who upholds stringent information security standards, such as ISO27001, and demonstrates robust security practices is vital. Contractually, defining terms aligned with regulations and essential requirements is crucial. Organizations must diligently incorporate these into their agreements. When selecting a CCM/CXM partner you should be looking for expertise not only with regards to understanding your business needs but also in regulatory demands, ensuring their integration into contracts.
By understanding and implementing these safeguards, businesses can navigate compliance confidently, leveraging the right technology and partnerships without the need for extensive in-house legal and technical teams.