Financial services and other highly regulated sectors currently sit at an inflection point, where several significant technological and regulatory trends are introducing a range of new challenges for investigations, litigation, and their related discovery at the same moment. One of these trends is the overall disruption brought forward by the emergence and growth of fintech, blockchain, and other technology advancements. Alongside that is a turbulent regulatory environment in which new laws are being introduced to govern modern industry while authorities become more aggressive across enforcement activities, and regulators compete. As these issues intersect, organizations are faced with much riskier and more complicated investigation processes.

Fintechs have created an entirely new innovation space, which, in addition to transforming traditional processes around payments, transactions and mobile banking, has prompted conventional financial institutions to embrace and pursue more tech-forward business models. Organizations that are building entire business units or models around innovation are naturally inclined to allow their teams to use a wide range of applications that make them more collaborative and creative. When this type of technical freedom is then replicated across numerous divisions, teams, and individuals throughout a global organization, significant data-related risks and challenges can result.