Communications Risk Management Firm Smarsh to Acquire TeleMessage

Smarsh, which specializes in helping organizations manage risk and find value in their communications data, will acquire mobile messaging provider TeleMessage. The agreement will enable Smarsh to combine mobile carrier partnerships in North America, EMEA and Asia.

The acquisition will enable Smarsh to expand its abilities to both store and monitor employee communications on a number of popular platforms including WhatsApp, WeChat, Telegram, Signal and other mobile IM apps. Smarsh is also striving to help their customers meet global regulatory requirements, including SEC (News - Alert), FINRA, Dodd-Frank, MIFID, FCA, IIROC and more.

"Highly regulated firms have always needed to capture and retain their digital communications for regulatory compliance, legal discovery and to protect their brand," said Goutam Nadella, chief product officer at Smarsh. "However, given the new hybrid workforce and how digitally connected everyone is, it's more challenging than ever to monitor all the new voice and text channels. Simply put, firms everywhere are overwhelmed by all the new channels – like WhatsApp, WeChat and more effective coverage for Bring Your Own Device models –- that are necessary for business but pose real risks, because of their variety and the volume and velocity of the data they produce. One of the biggest areas of risk is mobile communications."

Organizations have traditionally engaged a number of different providers to cover the risks of managing an abundance of mobile devices and apps. Those organizations have also suffered from gaps in their compliance as a result.

With the acquisition of TeleMessage, Smarsh aims to close those gaps by offering direct carrier capture support from more than 12 global mobile carriers. The company will also offer native communication capture of WhatsApp and WeChat calls and chats along with Signal and Telegram communications. Additionally, Smarsh will support voice and text on mobile devices as well as BYOD virtual phones and will also offer coverage of Microsoft (News - Alert) Teams, Slack, Zoom and more.

"Now more than ever, regulated companies everywhere have to have a trusted solution that can allow their regulated employees use any mobile chat or mobile communication channel, while remaining compliant," said Guy Levit, CEO of TeleMessage.

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