Implementing hosted group chat has three benefits over on-premises group chat solutions:
Heather Davisson General Manager, Compliance Group MindSHIFT
mindSHIFT Technologies, a provider of managed IT and compliance services, has recently started hosting Microsoft’s persistent group chat technology known as Microsoft Group Chat Console (“Group Chat”). This technology is the world’s first hosted enterprise-class group chat solution using Microsoft’s “Group Chat” and Live Communications Server (LCS), enabling financial services firms, call centers and other organizations that conduct business-critical communications to have a hosted Microsoft option for group instant messaging discussions that persist over time.
The group chat technology from Microsoft (previously Parlano) enables customers, partners and suppliers to build secure internetworks of business-class chat rooms (channels). Built for Microsoft® Live Communications Server (LCS), hosted “Group Chat” enables organizations to have structured communications with individuals both within and outside of the organization. The group chat communication is persistent, meaning that discussions are archived and full-text searchable by the current and future members of a group. Unlike email or instant messages (IM), persistent group chat discussions are archived in dialogue formats, not as individual messages in a mailbox.
This offering provides compliance with SEC 17a-4 and NASD 3010 regulations and includes complete IM management, with logging and integrated shipment, archival, surveillance and discovery capabilities. In addition, the offering enables compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 that, in part, requires businesses to document and assess their internal controls for the purposes of establishing sound corporate governance. When companies allow employees to use public methods of communications for business purposes, such as external IM or email, companies are putting themselves at tremendous risk because these communications cannot be effectively monitored, tracked or archived with the control that an enterprise solution offers. With hosted “Group Chat,” companies are able to establish safe persistent group chat rooms for internal and external parties to communicate effectively and efficiently, while allowing for archiving and search capabilities.
Implementing hosted group chat has three benefits over on-premises group chat solutions:
1. Archival for compliance purposes does not have to be done for all companies involved in the discussion by the sponsoring party: compliance logs are created and either hosted or sent to all required parties by the hosting provider
2. Service and Support for external chat channels can be provided by mindSHIFT’s 24x7 support desk, not by the sponsoring parties’ internal IT department.
3. Rapid deployment and secure access is enabled because mindSHIFT is a trusted partner on BT Radianz’s secure financial services extranet which is leveraged by a majority of the major sell-side financial firms; thus, with approval, companies working with them can have immediate secure access.
mindSHIFT hosted “Group Chat” provides secure intercompany chat discussions even if organizations don’t have the product installed internally; they simply gain product access as a hosted service for a low-cost fixed monthly fee. mindSHIFT believes that persistent group chat is poised to take off and become a must-have communications channel. While financial services firms have taken the lead, the company anticipates other industries will realize the excellent collaboration features of persistent group chat and adopt this technology in the next year. Persistent group chat revolutionalizes the communication and collaboration between and among companies. “Group Chat” delivers to customers the most complete presence, instant messaging and group chat solution on the market.
With operations in Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington D.C., mindSHIFT is a leading Managed Services Provider (MSP) offering managed IT services, software-as-a-service (SaaS), VoIP, compliance, e-business application development and professional services to small and medium-sized organizations. The company’s portfolio of managed services provides a comprehensive solution which includes such critical services as email management and administration, electronic backup for servers and desktops, virus and spam protection, desktop support, and server management – either at the customers’ premises or completely off-site. Managed services customers are supported by both a 24-hour Network Operations Center for proactive management support and a call center which diagnoses and resolves all end-user desktop issues. For advanced and larger businesses, the company provides business application migrations, storage area network upgrades and complex hosting applications. Additionally, mindSHIFT has superior expertise and experience in meeting the compliance requirements of financial services firms, as well as the complex demands of the legal community for the integration of applications such as document management.
