Why Managing Microsoft Teams Communications Compliance is Essential

Why Managing Microsoft Teams Communications Compliance is Essential

Microsoft Teams has become a cornerstone of modern workplace communication and collaboration with over 320 million users in, 2024. It is the default application for everything from virtual meetings and voicemail to file sharing and calendar management.  With its growing usage, managing compliance within the platform is critical. Here are the primary reasons why:

1. Regulatory Requirements: Industries such as finance, healthcare, and legal services must comply with regulations like DORA, GDPR, HIPAA, and FINRA. Ensuring Microsoft Teams communications adhere to these regulations helps organizations avoid significant fines and legal issues.
2. Data Security and Privacy: Microsoft Teams facilitates the sharing of information and it may be sensitive in nature, which requires security policies and protections to keep this process secure and compliant. Effective data governance and communication management ensures data security and privacy, protecting against breaches and unauthorized access of sensitive information.
3. Litigation and eDiscovery: In legal matters, the ability to retrieve relevant communications quickly is crucial. Managing compliance ensures that communications are archived and easily accessible for eDiscovery, reducing time and cost in legal proceedings.
4. Risk Management: Monitoring communications helps identify and mitigate risks related to inappropriate or unauthorized communications, such as harassment or insider trading. This proactive approach safeguards the organization's reputation and prevents costly incidents.
5. Business Continuity: A well-managed compliance strategy ensures that critical information is preserved and accessible during disruptions, supporting business continuity and minimizing operational interruptions.

5 Best Practices for Managing Microsoft Teams Communications Compliance

1. Define, Document, Implement Policies

Develop clear compliance policies that align with industry regulations and organizational requirements. Document these policies and ensure they are accessible to all employees. Policies should cover data retention, acceptable use, monitoring, and reporting. Configure data retention policies using Microsoft Teams' tools to retain communications as required by regulations. Regularly review and update these policies to stay compliant with evolving regulations.  Veritas Alta™ Information Governance helps organizations define and document comprehensive compliance policies and take advantage of its advanced AI-driven classification and tagging engine for automated compliance. It allows for the centralized management of information retention policies, ensuring they are consistently applied across Microsoft Teams and other platforms.

To learn more about Veritas Alta™ Information Governance watch this video:

2. Go Beyond Compliance Features in Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 provides basic compliance features via Microsoft Purview such as eDiscovery, auditing, and data loss prevention (DLP) to monitor, manage, and protect communications within Microsoft Teams. The Veritas Alta™ eDiscovery Platform enhances Microsoft 365's eDiscovery capabilities by providing advanced search, hold, and export functions. It streamlines the process of identifying and retrieving relevant communications, making legal and compliance investigations more efficient. Veritas Alta™ eDiscovery also provides the ability to identify and classify emojis within your Microsoft Teams environment providing granular search capabilities for emojis in the eDiscovery process. 

To learn more about our end-to-end eDiscovery solution for your EDRM needs check out this video:

3. Train Employees

Regularly train employees on compliance policies and best practices for using Microsoft Teams responsibly. Training should include recognizing and reporting suspicious or inappropriate communications. Veritas Data Insight provides valuable insights into user behavior and data usage patterns. This information can be used to tailor employee training programs, focusing on areas where compliance risks are most significant. Data Insight helps organizations understand how data is accessed and shared, promoting better compliance practices.

4. Monitor Communications

Use monitoring tools to oversee communications within Microsoft Teams. Implement automated monitoring for specific keywords or phrases that indicate non-compliance or potential risks and conduct regular audits of communication logs. Veritas Alta™ Surveillance offers powerful tools for monitoring communications within Microsoft Teams. It provides AI powered automated real-time monitoring for compliance with predefined policies, allowing organizations to detect and address issues proactively. This solution includes features like keyword detection and contextual analysis, ensuring comprehensive oversight of your MS Teams communications.

To learn more about Veritas Alta™ Surveillance watch this video:

5. Conduct Regular Audits

Perform periodic audits to review the effectiveness of compliance policies and identify gaps or areas for improvement. Audits should assess data retention settings, monitoring processes, and employee adherence to policies. Veritas Data Insight helps organizations conduct thorough audits of their compliance posture. It provides detailed reports and insights into the effectiveness of compliance policies, identifying potential gaps and areas for improvement. By using this tool, organizations can ensure continuous compliance and readiness for regulatory changes.

Managing communications compliance in Microsoft Teams is crucial for regulatory adherence, data security, and risk management. By implementing best practices and leveraging the Veritas Data Compliance and Governance portfolio, organizations can create a robust compliance strategy. These measures protect the organization from legal and financial repercussions and contribute to a secure and efficient communication environment.