Mimecast today announced new research commissioned by IDG Research on the factors leading financial services organizations to reprioritize how they manage compliance. Financial services organizations like retail banks, investment firms and insurance companies have always operated under stringent regulations and controls. However, increasing regulatory frameworks and evolving security threats are making compliance an increasing priority within these organizations.
Mimecast and IDG Research surveyed financial services professionals to understand their compliance efforts and what they consider as critical priorities. Nearly all respondents (92%) reported that compliance management has become an increasingly high priority over the past two years. When asked which compliance regulations will have the largest impact over the next 12 months, respondents noted those related to third-party collaboration, cloud storage and legislative orders such as Brexit, GDPR and MIFID II.
Regardless of industry, data loss is an ongoing struggle most organizations face. For the financial organizations surveyed it’s the number one concern, largely due to the ever-evolving threat landscape. More than half (58%) cited data loss as their organization’s biggest concern regarding non-compliance, and 49% said their organization had been impacted by data loss in the past 2 years.
Additionally, eighty-nine percent said that the amount of time their compliance teams spend maintaining audit readiness has increased over the past two years. Organizations are looking to reduce the complexity of compliance supervision over the next year. Almost half of the respondents cited they intend to improve integration and collaboration between internal teams, streamline processes so IT can focus on higher-value activity and improve their ability to document compliance supervision processes in the coming year.
“Compliance is not a one-time thing, it’s an ongoing effort that organizations need to monitor at every level of their business,” said Garth Landers, Director Product Marketing, Archiving at Mimecast. “The explosion of data combined with the fact that everyone is a technology user has put a lot of pressure on financial service firms to get compliance right. As new rules and regulations come into play, it’s even more important for organizations to ensure they have the right people, processes and technology in place to maintain compliance.”