Is your communications compliance framework ready for 2026? That was the central question behind a recent research initiative surveying 100 compliance, IT and surveillance professionals across regulated industries.
According to Wordwatch, the findings offer a timely snapshot of how organisations are managing communications governance and archiving at a moment when regulatory expectations, data volumes and technological change are all accelerating.
The research was commissioned with a simple aim: to listen. As regulatory frameworks expand and the number of digital communication channels continues to grow, firms are under increasing pressure to demonstrate that they can capture, retain and retrieve complete communications records on demand. Understanding how organisations are responding to these pressures, and where gaps still exist, was a key driver behind the study.
These insights have now been brought together in a new guide, Modernising communications governance and archiving – trends, risks and the compliance roadmap for 2026. Designed as a practical resource for regulated firms, the guide examines how communications governance is evolving, where legacy approaches are falling short and what firms need to prioritise as they prepare for the years ahead.
The findings highlight both progress and persistent challenges. Nearly four in five respondents said they had been asked by regulators to produce complete communications records in the past year, underlining how routine and high-stakes these requests have become. Despite this, only 17% of organisations reported having a unified archive that brings together voice and digital communications. At the same time, 79% of firms said they still rely on legacy systems for communications governance and archiving, while just 27% have end-to-end assurance across the data they capture. Perhaps most strikingly, 73% of organisations continue to depend on manual processes to ensure data is captured and retained.
Taken together, the results reveal a clear disconnect. While awareness of the importance of communications governance is high, many firms are operating with fragmented data, ageing infrastructure and resource-intensive processes. The guide explores what this means in practice, not only from a regulatory perspective but also in terms of operational efficiency, organisational resilience and readiness for AI-driven compliance and surveillance tools.
Alongside the survey data, the guide includes insights and observations from industry partners as well as contributions from internal subject-matter experts. These perspectives help to contextualise the findings and illustrate how firms across different sectors are approaching similar challenges, often with very different levels of maturity and investment.
As a solution provider operating in this space, the team behind the research emphasises that the guide is grounded in real-world experience. It reflects the day-to-day difficulties organisations face when trying to evidence compliance, support internal investigations and respond quickly to regulatory enquiries. From rebuilding outdated archives to introducing smarter policy automation, the challenges are practical as much as they are technical.
For organisations reviewing their communications governance strategy or planning their next phase of modernisation, the guide aims to provide both clarity and direction. As 2026 approaches, it offers a structured roadmap to help firms move beyond legacy constraints and build compliance frameworks that are fit for a more complex, data-driven regulatory environment.
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