AVT Systems, the specialist in trader voice & compliance solutions, has launched an instant messaging (IM) auditing service for financial or trading organisations. The service – a new addition to AVT’s range of compliance solutions - is based on FaceTime Communications’ ‘Vantage’ product..  

IM is increasingly used by traders in addition to voice and email. It is vital that trading organisations can secure and trace trading information communicated via IM in order to meet compliance regulations.  FaceTime’s Vantage provides organisations with the ability to secure, log, archive and easily retrieve IM and web conferencing chat conversations. It supports: all public IM clients; Unified Communications platforms Microsoft Office Communications Server and IBM Lotus Sametime; industry-focused IM communities such as Bloomberg; and web conferencing applications such as WebEx.

AVT already offers a range of compliance solutions to financial services companies including: risk monitoring; information governance; archiving and analysis; and bespoke solutions. Earlier this month, it announced that it is developing a compliance software division, to develop technology applications that help traders do their jobs and comply with new legislation. 

Mike Fenton, CEO of AVT, says: “There’s no point in having sophisticated systems to make sure all your voice calls or emails can be archived and analysed, if all your trading information is going over unsecured IM. These days, traders might have four or five different communications platforms running concurrently, and they all have to be compliant. IM Auditor is a great tool to ensure that conversations are tracked, leaving traders to get on with doing their jobs.”