This Kindato client is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, asset management, and financial advisory services to clients worldwide. The company has over 20,000 employees and operates in several countries. The client is subject to strict regulatory requirements and must comply with various data protection and privacy laws such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). 

They faced several challenges in managing its data and communications efficiently. The company had a decentralized approach to managing data, and employees stored data in multiple M365 applications, including SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams as well as a host of other data repositories and applications. The company lacked a unified view of its data and struggled to enforce data retention policies, resulting in increased storage costs and potential legal and regulatory risks. The company also had a significant amount of legacy data on backup tapes and servers that needed to be managed. 

Moreover, the company faced challenges in ensuring compliance with communication regulations. The company used various communication channels, including email, instant messaging, and collaboration tools, to communicate with clients and employees. The company needed to ensure that these communications were compliant with various regulations, including FINRA and SEC regulations. 

Moreover, the company faced challenges in managing the eDiscovery process. The process was manual and time-consuming, requiring significant resources to collect and review data as well as manage the legal hold process. The company needed a more efficient and cost-effective solution to manage legal matters, especially in reducing the hosting fees on the eDiscovery platform as well as managing the budgets for outsourced document review. 

To address these challenges, Kindato worked with the company to implement information governance and communication compliance solutions in M365. The company selected Microsoft’s Information Protection and Governance (IPG) suite and Compliance Manager for communication compliance. Kindato created a multi-year strategic approach with legal, compliance, business, and technology teams.  

Kindato provided the M365 technical expertise, Information Governance experience and project management along the way, defining the information governance policies and implementing them in M365. The company created retention policies and applied them to its M365 applications, including SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams. The company also implemented data classification and labeling to ensure that sensitive data was appropriately protected. 

To address the company’s communication compliance requirements, Kindato worked with the company to implement Microsoft Communication Compliance in collaboration with the previous messaging compliance system. The tool enabled the company to monitor and enforce communication policies across various channels, including email, instant messaging, and collaboration tools. The tool provided a centralized view of the company’s communication compliance posture and enabled the company to track its progress in meeting its compliance obligations.

The Kindato team worked closely with the company’s legal team to define its legal hold policies and implement them in M365. The team also created a workflow for managing the eDiscovery process, enabling the company to collect, review, and produce data efficiently through automation. 

The Kindato managed service enabled the company to collect data from multiple M365 applications, including SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams. The service also provided advanced search and filtering capabilities, enabling the company to identify relevant data quickly and reduce the volume of data for review.

After implementing the information governance and communication compliance solutions in M365 with Kindato’s support, the company realized several benefits. The company achieved a unified view of its data and communications, enabling it to enforce data retention policies consistently and ensure communication compliance across its global operations. 

The company was able to reduce storage costs and mitigate potential legal and regulatory risks by enforcing data retention policies effectively. Moreover, the company was able to ensure communication compliance across various channels, including email, instant messaging, and collaboration tools, enabling it to comply with various regulatory requirements, including FINRA and SEC regulations. 

Overall, the company was able to improve its data and communication management practices, reduce storage costs, and mitigate legal and regulatory risks by implementing information governance and communication compliance solutions in M365. The company’s employees could work more efficiently and securely, knowing that their data and communications were appropriately managed and protected.