Unified Enterprise Communications: Balancing Compliance and Impact

Have you ever felt tangled in siloed data or weighed down by compliance demands? You're not alone.

We caught up with Richard Logan, Principal Digital Strategist at MMT Digital, to find out how regulated organisations can unify their customer communications, maintain compliance, and deliver real value.

MMT Digital has worked on global digital transformation programmes for well-known names like Vodafone, NFU Mutual, Schroders, TransLink, and Newcastle Building Society.

Richard's insights show which strategic, technical, and cultural elements matter most for creating a connected customer experience.

Here are some of the key themes we covered in our conversation.

What Are Unified Communications?

Unified communications refer to a connected ecosystem across channels and touchpoints—covering CRMs, social media, websites, portals, and more.

The aim is to give customers a consistent experience, regardless of where they choose to engage.

From shared brand identities to seamless data flows, unified communications help businesses reduce confusion and frustration for customers.

Especially in highly regulated industries—like finance, insurance, or utilities—this consistency builds trust.

It also streamlines internal operations because teams aren’t battling disconnected systems or duplicating data.

"What was high maturity a decade ago is now table stakes.

Customers expect you to know who they are and what they need without forcing them to repeat themselves."

— Richard Logan, Principal Digital Strategist, MMT Digital

Driving Customer Experience Through Unified Data

In many large organisations, data is spread across legacy systems.

One team may control the CRM, another manages a self-service portal, and a third runs email campaigns.

This fragmentation can dilute brand messaging and leave customers feeling like they're hopping between different providers.

A unified platform, or a well-orchestrated set of integrated tools, creates a “publish once, deploy to many” model.

This means:

• Brands share consistent pricing, promotions, and compliance content across channels.
• Internal teams manage fewer updates because a single change populates everywhere.
• Customer journeys become more relevant, as data points (like product history or policy details) feed personalised messages.

Richard points out, though, that unifying data isn’t as simple as combining a few spreadsheets or databases.

Organisations must respect legal and privacy boundaries, especially when dealing with sensitive information like personal or financial data.

Connecting systems in a way that preserves compliance is a key challenge—but it can be done with the right architecture and planning.

How Compliance Looms Large

In highly regulated sectors, compliance is non-negotiable.

Businesses face strict guidelines about how they gather, store, and use data.

They must also protect that data from cyber attacks.

Yet marketing and product teams often want to ‘move fast’ to engage customers.

"In financial services, you can’t just push out personal policy details in a marketing email.

You need the right authorisation trails in place, and you must separate certain data sets.

But you also don’t want to treat your customers like strangers by ignoring the information you do have."

— Richard Logan, Principal Digital Strategist, MMT Digital

Richard recommends adopting clear frameworks for data usage from the start.

Rather than waiting until the last sprint of a project to address compliance, involve risk and legal teams early.

This builds confidence internally and reduces the chance of rework or data breaches later on.

Overcoming Legacy Systems and Silos

Many brands struggle with technology that pre-dates modern customer experience standards.

Some systems even pre-date the millennium, making them inflexible.

Replacing them often feels risky.

Stakeholders worry about downtime or lost records, especially if large customer bases rely on the service 24/7.

According to Richard, success lies in:

• Assessing capabilities: Which systems are truly blocking transformation, and which are fine with minor tweaks?
• Planning iteratively: Big-bang migrations can be risky — small steps let you deliver upgrades in manageable chunks.
• Upskilling people: New tech platforms only work if staff learn to use them—and adapt their processes.

One major UK insurer, for example, added a new analytics layer to track customer interactions across its quote tool and digital portal.

It then used those insights to tailor follow-up email prompts, highlighting where customers dropped off.

This tightened data security while still improving the user journey, without overhauling its entire IT environment in one go.

Personalisation Done Right

Personalisation is more than adding a name to an email subject line.

It’s about using data to give customers what’s truly relevant.

In practice, though, regulated businesses must  also avoid being “too personal.”

It goes without saying that they should never expose or highlight confidential details on public platforms.

Richard shared a cautionary tale of a high street pharmacy that displayed sensitive product suggestions on its main homepage.

This crossed a line, making customers uncomfortable.

Instead, businesses in healthcare, finance, or similar sectors should base personalisation on aggregated data or behavioural triggers (e.g., “We’ve saved your quote—click here to pick up where you left off.”)

Ultimately, personalisation should guide customers toward value and deeper engagement, not intrude on their privacy.

It’s a balance between making experiences genuinely helpful and respecting compliance constraints.

Achieving Buy-In across the Business

One of the biggest hurdles is unifying not just your data, but also your organisational teams.

Successful projects often arise when there’s a dedicated digital or transformation group that spans marketing, IT, compliance, and customer service.

This group becomes a single source of truth for capability planning, budget decisions, and technology choice.

"I.T. teams on their own may not always prioritise user experience.

Marketing might push for features that compliance isn’t ready to approve.

You need a team that’s empowered to reconcile those tensions under one roadmap."

— Richard Logan, Principal Digital Strategist, MMT Digital

When teams adopt an agile, iterative approach—failing fast and learning from small pilot releases—they can address snags quickly.

Smaller test groups also help demonstrate wins to senior leadership, making it easier to secure future investment.

FAQs

What Is Unified Communications in a Regulated Environment?

It’s a strategy for integrating all customer contact points—email, social channels, portals—into a consistent, secure framework.

In regulated sectors, this also requires close oversight of data privacy and audit trails.

How Does Unified Data Improve Customer Journeys?

It stops fragmentation by creating a single view of the customer.

This helps businesses tailor communications without losing track of compliance rules.

It also reduces repeat work for internal teams.

How Can We Protect Against Downtime during a Migration?

Organise the work in smaller phases.

Consider piloting new platforms for a subset of customers before a full rollout.

This approach reduces the risk of large-scale disruption.

Why Should Compliance Teams Be Involved Early?

They can highlight potential risks and prevent rework later.

Early input from compliance also builds trust within the organisation, helping new initiatives move forward confidently.

Is Personalisation Still Possible If Our Data Is Highly Restricted?

Yes, as long as you follow clear rules about which data can appear in specific channels.

Focus on contextual relevance rather than personal details.

For instance, remind a customer about a saved quote without exposing sensitive policies.

Reviewed by

Sam Kendall, 10.01.2025

Sabrina McClune, 10.01.2025