As regulatory scrutiny intensifies and data volumes continue to grow, communications compliance is becoming a defining challenge for regulated firms heading into 2026.
According to Wordwatch, to understand how organisations are coping, new research surveyed 100 compliance, IT and surveillance professionals across regulated industries, revealing both progress and persistent structural weaknesses in communications governance and archiving strategies.
The research was designed with a simple objective: to listen. By focusing on the lived experience of teams responsible for communications oversight, the study set out to understand how firms are managing voice, messaging and digital communications in an environment shaped by hybrid working, evolving regulations and rising enforcement expectations.
These insights have been brought together in a new guide, Modernising Communications Governance and Archiving – Trends, Risks and the Compliance Road map for 2026. The publication serves as a practical resource for regulated firms reassessing how they capture, store and govern communications data, particularly as expectations around completeness, accessibility and auditability continue to rise.
The findings highlight a compliance landscape caught between intention and execution. While 79% of respondents said they had been asked by regulators to produce complete communications records in the past year, only 17% reported having a unified archive spanning both voice and digital communications. At the same time, 79% of organisations continue to rely on legacy systems for communications governance, limiting their ability to respond quickly and confidently to regulatory requests.
Assurance across captured data also remains inconsistent. Just 27% of firms said they have end-to-end confidence in the data they collect and retain, while 73% still depend on manual steps to ensure communications are properly captured and archived. These gaps expose firms not only to compliance risk, but also to operational inefficiencies and challenges in scaling surveillance and analytics capabilities.
Despite these shortcomings, the research suggests growing awareness of the strategic importance of communications governance. Fragmented data estates, limited resources and constant regulatory change are forcing organisations to rethink their approach, particularly as AI-driven monitoring and analytics become more central to compliance operations. The guide explores what these trends mean in practice, linking governance maturity to resilience, investigation readiness and long-term AI adoption.
Additional insights from industry partners and subject-matter experts reinforce the message that technology alone is not enough. Effective communications compliance depends on clear governance frameworks, consistent policies and the ability to demonstrate control across the full communications lifecycle.
Drawing on close collaboration with regulated organisations, the guide reflects real-world challenges, from responding to regulatory enquiries under tight deadlines to supporting internal investigations and modernising archives without disrupting day-to-day operations. For firms reviewing their governance strategy or planning smarter policy automation, it offers a practical road map for strengthening communications compliance as 2026 approaches.
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