Tuesday, July 29th, 2003, London – UK-based investment banks could be putting themselves at risk by allowing workers to use unregulated Instant Messaging (IM) networks to exchange business and financial information, according to research published today by Vanson Bourne Research and FaceTime Communications.
Results show that around half of the UK investment community admits that IM use is widespread within their organisations, and that important transactions are being made via free IM networks including AOL, MSN and Yahoo!
The survey questioned the IT departments in 50 leading UK corporate and investment banks on the use of IM technologies. The responses show that IM is a technology widely used but poorly controlled among leading institutions.
The ‘real-time’ nature of IM makes it the perfect tool for traders to exchange information in small informal networks, spanning continents and time-zones. However, policies on managing and tracking these communications remain unclear, according to the research.
Glyn Baker, UK Director of Business Development, FaceTime said: “Headline financial transactions are being done ‘in the wild’. While unregulated conversations are harmless fun for the consumer, they have severe implications for the financial services industry, with its strict corporate governance standards.”
---------
To receive a full copy of the report or if you have any questions, please contact:
Chris Gent/Jon Lonsdale
Tel: 01753 672755
Fax: 01753 741076
Email: facetime@octopuscomms.net
About FaceTime Communications
Founded in 1998 with an early vision to integrate instant messaging into the enterprise, FaceTime Communications is the most widely deployed provider of IM security and management solutions, which address network and information security, regulatory and corporate compliance, and call center customer service.
FaceTime's award-winning solutions are used by over 250 customers, including 32 of the largest financial institutions and 7 of the 8 largest U.S. banks, such as Bank of America with 140,000 licensed seats alone. Other leading cable, energy, entertainment, healthcare, insurance, technology and travel customers include Alaska Airlines, Amica Insurance, BankOne, Citigroup, Dominion Energy, Hewlett-Packard, Jefferies & Co, Soundview Technologies, Thomas Weisel Partners, Toronto Dominion Bank, Wachovia Securities and Western Union.
A renowned pioneer, FaceTime was the first company to provide multi-network access to public IM networks for AOL, Microsoft and Yahoo! while also providing interoperability with such private and enterprise IM networks as Communicator Inc., IBM Lotus, Jabber, Microsoft, Reuters and Yahoo!. Headquartered in Foster City, California, FaceTime can be reached at www.facetime.com, 001-650-574-1600, or via IM screen name FaceTimeLive.
About Vanson Bourne
Information is the key to the success of any business today, and never more so than in the IT industry. Incorporated in 1999, Vanson Bourne is a specialist IT Imarket research consultancy that offers clients analysis and advice based on incisive and rigorous research into their market environment.