By Avi Pardo, Co-founder & CROThe Apple brand has a 98.75% recognizability score globally, higher than any other major international brand. Out of the 7.33 billion smartphone users in the world, over 1.3 billion of them use iPhones, and in the US alone, 56% of phones are iPhones (Samsung comes in second at only 29%).
That’s a lot of Apple in the smartphone fruit salad.
Where you find Apple phones, not to mention billions of Apple Watches, iPads, and Macbook computers, you find iMessage – the iOS-based instant messaging application, and a firm favorite among Apple loyalists.
While this is great for fans of the platform, it does mean there is an increasingly urgent need for businesses to monitor yet another burgeoning communication channel if they are to remain compliant with a range of regulations.
In 2023, it is more important than ever for businesses to include iMessage in their reach.
What’s New
LeapXpert is leading the way with the introduction of the first compliant solution for iMessage through The LeapXpert Communications Platform, answering the needs of modern enterprise communication.
Exactly a year ago, we launched our native iMessage capture solution, enabling companies to allow their employees to use iMessage while remaining in compliance with regulations (“Native Mode”).
Now we are adding a “Governed Mode,” the capability to use iMessage with the Leap Work app (iOS and Android) as well as Leap Work for Teams, enabling users to communicate with clients on multiple platforms from within Teams.
To learn about all the features of this market-leading messaging compliance solution and why it is such an important addition to our platform, keep reading.
In A World of Heightened Transparency, LeapXpert Has Your Back
All organizations, regardless of size or sector, need to take the management of communications seriously, and a failure to do so poses huge financial and reputational risks.
Regulated industries such as financial institutions, government bodies, healthcare organizations, and legal and other professional practices are required to record and archive all communications with clients, regardless of mode, channel, or type of conversations, including iMessage.
Even self-regulated industries must ensure business communication conducted through iMessage is properly managed, secured, and retained.
It is not possible to accomplish regulatory compliance without high levels of automation, and this means that organizations rely on software solution providers to keep up with market changes in order to provide the best support to their corporate clients.
Until now, using third-party backup utilities that were not business-friendly and not scalable, to capture data from iMessage has been difficult. This is why LeapXpert has introduced the first compliant iMessage solution for modern business communication.
This new addition will enable organizations to capture, store, and manage iMessage business conversations ensuring proper regulatory compliance, more effective governance, and heightened information protection.
Why Your Business Needs a Compliant Communication Solution for iMessage
The number of people using iMessage is increasing steadily- from approximately 200 million users in 2012 when it launched, it has now reached over 1.3 billion users just a decade later. And it is gaining popularity amongst one of the most important demographics – Gen Z, the up-and-coming rulers of the workplace. They are responsible for a third of all iPhone sales in the US, as opposed to just 10% of Samsung sales.
With approximately 1 billion monthly active users and an estimated 8.4 billion messages shared on iMessage each day, it is clear that this service can’t be ignored by businesses that need to monitor their electronic communications. Unfortunately, this has been the case up until now.
Compliance and Information Risks Associated with iMessage
Ensuring complete and accurate record-keeping is a statutory requirement for operating in many different sectors, and regulators have established that all electronic communications, including emails and text messages, are legally part of these records.
Although the regulations can differ from country to country, most government and industry bodies require that business-related electronic messaging is kept and produced on demand, regardless of whether they were sent and received on a company or personal device.
Regulators are becoming more vigilant, and non-compliance can result in severe consequences, including penalties, fines, suspension, and even criminal charges. The severity of the fines depends on the circumstances of the violation, but they have been known to be onerous based on previous precedence.
For example, in 2017 Deloitte had put in place a solution to monitor text messages on business phones. However they were not able to capture iMessages, so they opted to block access to that platform. Audits showed that despite the ban, iMessages were not being blocked as expected, but they failed to do anything further at that point. In 2022 this oversight was discovered by regulatory bodies, and in March 2023, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued them with a $200k fine.
And that can be considered a lightweight fine. In December 2021 the Securities and Exchange Commission and CFTC fined J.P. Morgan Securities $200m for failing to monitor and store business-related text messages made using applications such as WhatsApp and iMessage, and in 2022 similar fines were levied against several other banks.
The rise of alternative communication platforms such as iMessage is making it increasingly difficult for businesses to meet regulatory requirements. By bringing iMessage into the platform ‘fold’, LeapXpert is playing a critical role in reducing risk for its clients.
What is Our Compliant Communication Solution for iMessage?
LeapXpert is the only solution that provides a flexible capture and management of client conversations with our Governed and Native modes and built-in information protection systems on top of the compliance features.
The LeapXpert Communications Platform for iMessage includes:
- One-to-one chats between employees and clients on iMessage
- Group chats between employees and multiple clients on iMessage
- Dedicated phone number identity for an employee, across iMessage and all supported governed channels to create more personalized interactions between clients and their reps
- Personal Apple ID and Company Apple ID (Managed Apple IDs)
- Information protection features including Data leakage protection(DLP), antivirus/antimalware and ethical walls/room conditions
- Centralized audit logs now include iMessage conversations
How Does Our Solution Benefit Your Company?
- Streamlined compliance: Transform iMessage into a compliant communication channel that meets record-keeping requirements, while providing full control and visibility of iMessage communications.
- Built-in information protection: Mitigate potential risks associated with enterprise and customer data security, access and ownership by providing real-time/near real-time enterprise controls, safeguarding your organization’s reputation.
- Simplified client communications: Allow clients to communicate in group chats using their preferred channel, including iMessage, and to contact their reps via the same phone number (Leap Work, Leap Work for Teams)
LeapXpert – Bringing iMessage Home
LeapXpert is excited to provide our clients with a flexible and rich solution that covers the unique needs of our customers in regulated and non-regulated industries. By adding iMessage into the communication channels that can be authorized, captured, and managed, we are not only reducing risk to your business in a more regulator-scrutinized environment, but are also helping you communicate with your clients quickly and efficiently in a competitive business environment.
Check out our upcoming events to see a demo and talk about your needs.
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