Communication preferences are evolving, among both employees, and consumers alike. There are billions of monthly active users (MAUs) on messaging apps. And although most apps like iMessage and WhatsApp were developed for consumer purposes, their speed, convenience, and ubiquity make them increasingly attractive in the workplace too.
As a result, companies embracing enterprise communication and collaboration platforms like Microsoft Teams, are beginning to look for ways to extend the platforms features with connections to popular messaging tools.
The Challenges of Combing Messaging Apps with MS Teams
One of the reasons Microsoft Teams has become such a popular (320 million users and counting) solution for internal collaboration, is its flexibility. Aside from naturally enabling users to communicate via channels, video, and audio, it also supports a range of integrations with communication tools, and popular apps. Unfortunately, it doesn’t offer native support for consumer messaging channels such as WhatsApp, SMS, iMessage, WeChat, and LINE.
Often, business users who want to message with external parties are then forced to use their own personal or business mobile number. This creates a significant user experience issue for enterprise employees who have to toggle constantly between devices and channels. Switching between Teams on a desktop, then WhatsApp on a phone is inefficient.
The issue also creates a clear compliance gap, as the business has no record of these conversations. In industries like finance, this can lead to significant fines. The SEC and CFTC have already levied almost 3 billion dollars in fines for non-compliant use of apps such as WhatsApp.
In every industry, there are risks to implementing new communication channels for employees and consumers. In the finance sector, for instance, SEC Rule 17-a-4 requires all broker-dealer firms to capture and archive electronic communication data for 6 years.
The only way to access the benefits of consumer messaging app such as iMessage and WhatsApp within Teams, without unnecessary risk, is to find an enterprise-grade solution partner.
How to Enable Compliant Messaging in Teams
The first step in leveraging iMessage, WhatsApp, and other messaging apps alongside Teams involves clearly defining your requirements. These include supported channels, business workflows, and integrations with Microsoft Azure services, Microsoft Purview, or existing archiving, surveillance, and backend systems.
It’s also important to understand the risks associated with opening new external communication channels from Microsoft Teams. Examining the data governance and security frameworks relevant to your business, is crucial to ensuring you’re protecting, collecting and storing communication data correctly.
From there:
Start by Looking at Ease of Use
When choosing a vendor, the first thing to examine is the overall experience they can offer for end users and clients. When accessing messaging apps within Teams, users want to have a “native” experience. It means using the Teams chat interface for external messaging – and avoid having a separate tab – and a seamless client invitation with automated, disclaimer messages, ensuring client conversations are always conducted from an official, legit business account.
Focus on Communication and Multimedia Capabilities
Teams users need access to rich communication features, from 1:1 chats to group chats, not only within the same messaging apps but also across diverse channels. This increases client satisfaction, as each party is not limited to specific channels and can use their preferred channel, even in group conversations. Additionally, they need the ability to share text, files, audio messages, and emojis, as well as edit or delete messages. Please check for any limitations a vendor may have.
Evaluate the Vendor’s Integration Approach
Since WhatsApp and iMessage aren’t supported by Microsoft as standard, you’ll need a seamless integration between Teams and messaging channels. As mentioned above, not every vendor takes the same approach.
Unlike other companies offering potential expansion options for Microsoft Teams, LeapXpert, an innovator in responsible business communications, takes a unique approach. The LeapXpert offering for Microsoft Teams allows employees to use their existing Teams phone number or corporate phone number for external communications over messaging channels (“Single Professional Identity”).
This unique phone number serves as an identification for WhatsApp Business Accounts and as a verification number for managed or personal Apple IDs, ensuring that all conversations between employees and clients are conducted in a supported and official manner. Contact management is also included, a feature missing in Teams, making secure onboarding more straightforward.
LeapXpert for Microsoft Teams empowers the hundreds of millions of enterprise employees who use Microsoft Teams as their main collaboration platform to do more with it, said Avi Pardo, Co-founder & CBO of LeapXpert.
“They can now communicate in a compliant manner with external parties who are using instant messaging apps such as iMessage and WhatsApp. The platform enhances Microsoft customer experience and employee productivity while ensuring enterprise data ownership and governance.”
Set Policies for Ongoing Compliance and Governance
Once you’ve implemented your chosen solution, you’ll need to create policies and leverage advanced features to ensure ongoing compliance and governance. LeapXpert gives companies an edge in this area, offering access to advanced recordkeeping controls and governance features.
Companies can not only receive alerts and notifications when policies are breached, when a virus/malware is detected in files or sensitive data is shared but can block them and prevent issues. Plus, since LeapXpert captures communications across every channel, it helps you create a single point of truth for all your digital communications capture.
Companies can store data in a central archiving solution, such as Microsoft Purview or any archiving provider through out-of-the-box integrations, and implement their own information barriers, antivirus, and antimalware solutions, and more. With LeapXpert, you get the full set of tools you need for real-time governance and consistent messaging compliance, without compromising on a native, MS Teams-centric experience for users.
Enabling Secure Messaging with LeapXpert
As the communication landscape continues to evolve, growing increasingly mobile-centric, companies need a strategy for enabling messaging within Teams, without harming security and compliance. The LeapXpert solution for Microsoft Teams offers an intuitive solution.
Through native integration, it enables Microsoft Teams users to communicate with clients and colleagues through WhatsApp, SMS, iMessage, WeChat, and LINE. The offering ensures employees can continue to connect with clients on their preferred mobile messaging applications, while safeguarding internal and external conversations.
Plus, the solution seamlessly works alongside tools, such as the Purview solution for Archiving, Data Loss Prevention and Information Barriers. With LeapXpert, companies can extend their communication strategies, unlock the full value of Microsoft Teams, and reduce their exposure to risks.
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