The past 6 months have seen clear changes in how we communicate. We recently reviewed our client data, comparing this with the previous year, and we saw some very interesting trends emerging. You can read the full report here.
Remote Working sparks shift to mobile
It is not just our data which shows clients leaning towards communication convenience. In a study of over 25,000 consumers across 30 markets, Kantor global consulting company reported that WhatsApp has seen a 40% increase in usage in the early phases of the pandemic. Spain alone experienced a 76% increase in time spent on WhatsApp.
Increased remote working has led to an uptick in mobile usage in domestic settings. We saw a 500% increase in mobile use in March alone of this year. Does this reflect a trend towards mobiles for business overtaking the conventional workplace landline? While most trading decks still rely heavily on open lines a more mobile solution that suits flexible working hours is on the rise and mobile phones win in both convenience and usability.
As well as increased mobile calls, instant messaging platforms are becoming more and more prevalent in business communication. While we see that SMS reduced by 49%, WhatsApp usage rose by 86% during the first half of the year. We think this trend will continue and a ban-by-policy approach will be futile.
Global Pandemic an accelerator for multichannel communication
The rise of consumer messaging apps over the last decade has now leaked into business. There hasn’t been just one way to message someone for a while, instead you can choose from WhatsApp, Viber, Signal, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, iMessage, Skype, and so on. Add these consumer options to traditional platforms used in trading such as ICE, Reuters and Bloomberg chat and you have a lot of online trading activity to oversee.
The market has realised that their employees communicate across many different channels and is now trying to play catch up using policy designed for old ways of working that are not fit-for-purpose in modern businesses.
VoxSmart’s view of trends in communication in 2020
Little did we know that 2020 was going to be a game-changing year for business. Our recent whitepaper Global Trends in Trading Communication reflects on the key trends affecting trading communication in the capital markets sector and what this means for the future of markets surveillance. To read, click on the link below.
If you’re interested in hearing more about how VoxSmart can help your firm surveil and monitor all trading communications in one platform, get in touch for a demo.
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- How Financial Services will adapt to the future of remote working
- Article by Greyspark Partners: When Investment Banking Comes Home
- How instant messaging will transform client relations post COVID 19