Compliance is no longer something done out of necessity. Instead, it is an opportunity for companies to earn the trust of their customers and safeguard their brand reputation, according to Smart Communications vice president of product marketing Chris Murphy.
Murphy stated that the increased regulatory oversight is not a negative thing. These guidelines have been implemented to protect consumers. While the increased oversight might cause more work, it allows companies to be responsible for their actions and be held accountable by developing a strong process for enterprise risk management and compliance, Murphy said.
However, to keep pace with the ever-changing requirements, Murphy stressed that enterprises need an agile and scalable technology stack that helps. One potential route is through cloud-based solutions. These offer open APIs that make it easy to connect to core systems and use known data to deliver more transparent and personalised client experience.
He said, “Cloud-native solutions offer the agility and speed that’s required to meet these regulatory requirements while also offering an opportunity to better serve customers. This is especially true for the industries that are subject to the most scrutiny.”
One area regulators are making moves in is accessibility. Both the European and American regulators are implementing new accessibility standards. The most recent Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, which are the international standards for accessibility, also outlined four priorities, perceivability, operability, understandability and robustness.
Making websites and communications accessible helps businesses reach more consumers, as well as build trust with them, Murphy said.
He added, “Digital forms and other customer communications should also meet accessibility standards. Some accessibility requirements are fairly straightforward — for example, including alt text on all images and transcribing audio files. But incorporating accessibility into the entire digital ecosystem at the enterprise level is complex. Updating things like font size and colour, background colour contrast, and screen reader accessibility require a sophisticated approach.”
Maintaining outdated systems or manual updates could risk error, fines and litigation for the firm.
Murphy added that protecting customer data and reducing errors also helps protect a company’s reputation. He went as far to say it should be at the core of any enterprise’s risk management and compliance efforts.
“Failing to show good faith in securing data or making content accessible can reduce an enterprise’s competitive edge and likely lead to revenue loss as well.”
By moving to the cloud, Murphy argues it will give firms the visibility and agility needed to maintain compliance and minimise risk without increasing costs. Instead of manually sifting through forms and communications, they can quickly find what they need through structured management systems.
“This creates a seamless process for searching entire communications libraries for language fragments that are used across communications and make instant updates across the board. Even things like font size and colour can be updated centrally, making it easy to keep up with changing regulatory requirements.”
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