The partnership will enable Actiance's customers to record voice conversations over BlackBerry smartphones to comply with new regulations from the UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) that will take effect in November 2011. Recording traders' desk phones has been a regulatory requirement in the UK since 2009.

In addition, the two companies are hosting a joint seminar Recording Mobiles for FSA Compliance in London on February 17th 2011, where expert speakers from the FSA, Research In Motion, Voxsmart and Actiance will discuss the FSA's PS10/17 directive, which removes the mobile recording exemption. The new regulations, aimed at preventing and detecting insider trading and market abuse, require that traders' mobile phone communications are recorded and stored for six months. This has caused concern within financial institutions, where there is the perception that the cost of implementing new equipment necessary to maintain compliance outweighs the risk. However, Voxsmart's purely software solution makes use of the on-site equipment that is already being used to record landline calls. This eliminates the need for new expensive technology, saving organizations money and keeping them compliant.

"Financial organisations that do not adequately control and record all mobile conversations run the risk of not just being out of compliance, but also unable to prove their innocence should an investigation into certain trades be launched," said Nick Sears, VP EMEA, Actiance. "Voxsmart's simple, yet effective solution is a good match for our Vantage product, which already enables financial firms to use their BlackBerry smartphones for SMS and PIN without the risk of compliance issues."

It is likely that many financial regulators around the world will be now be assessing their position on telephone recording in light of the FSA's new rules. In Norway, traders' calls on landline and mobile phones will need to be recorded from 1 April 2011 and the European financial regulator is also expected to make an announcement on this issue soon as part of its Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) review.

"Smartphones are notoriously difficult to lock down and control for compliance purposes, which is why the BlackBerry platform, with its dedicated BlackBerry Enterprise Server, is so popular in heavily regulated industries such as the financial services sector," says Sally-Ann Angel, CEO of Voxsmart. "Actiance has a long history of delivering award-winning products that solve many of today's real-time communication compliance issues. Together we can expand the capabilities we offer our customers and enable them to continue to take full advantage of their BlackBerry smartphones."

Vantage from Actiance integrates with the BlackBerry Enterprise Server, allowing corporate customers to capture or block messages on their users' BlackBerry smartphones. This new relationship with Voxsmart will ensure that Actiance's customers can record and control not only all communications delivered via the BlackBerry Enterprise Server, but also now record mobile voice calls. With over a decade of experience in enabling many of the world's leading banks to use IM, unified communications and social networking in a safe and compliant environment, Actiance is ideally placed to assist financial institutions in this latest regulatory development.