WhatsApp!

The most popular and highly used personal communication platform unlike any other applications with

• 1bn daily active users,
• 1.5bn monthly active users,
• and 60bn message-exchanges per day. Across the globe have taken a back seat serving the enterprise-level communication.

Being simple to understand, easy to use, fun-loving, and free. The WhatsApp security issues made the application no more favourite across professional workspaces!

Many small retailers of FMCG and consumer durables think WhatsApp as their best communication channel to be in touch with customers for promoting the products, taking orders, answering customer queries, etc., to increase their product sales.

But how safe is your business data and its processes are?

The Potential Risks of using WhatsApp for business include;

• Security issues,
• Compliance,
• Workflows mismanagement,
• Tracking,
• Data Administration,
• and finally the business productivity?

Though the enterprise version of the same, WhatsApp for business communication is doing rounds since 2017. Why the end-users are limiting only to personal communication? What potential risks are involved in using the personal messenger application WhatApp, for business communication?

Take a closer look at the insights below:

1. GDPR compliance

Whatsapp uses the user information( subject to the choices they make) to operate, provide, improve, understand, customize, and support. Refer here for more info.

According to the latest regulations, business firms are asked to adhere to their home country’s data protection laws for securing their business partners and customers data. However, this turned out to be a real conflict with WhatsApp, as it accesses your address book or metadata for enabling message-exchanges between you and your contact list. They further said that data deserves high-priority protection in certain areas like Government organizations, industries, large enterprises, and business sectors, where it essentially has to deal with sensitive and confidential information.

Checkout here for what you can get with the Troop Messenger GDPR Compliance.

2. Limited Admin Controls

WhatsApp has few admin control features that only control Groups. Being a personal messenger, it does not support an extensive range of corporate admin control features to limit user access to the organization’s data. Corporate business collaboration applications like Troop Messenger, have well-defined admin-level privileges to monitor and track employees access controls.

The moment you start using WhatsApp for official communication routines, then there is a possible risk of misusing your sensitive data when employees leave the company. To avoid such scenarios, use business collaboration applications for strictly restricting the terminated users to have access to the organization's data. We can’t find this advantage in WhatsApp.

How unique the admin controls of Troop Messenger are?

Admin dashboard is distinctively designed from other chat applications. The simple and clean dashboard is made up of full-level admin controls, for efficaciously implementing them over the users of the application. Right from adding employees with their corporate details, setting limitations on feature access-controls, and eventually deactivating the terminated employees of the organization to restrict them having access to the organization’s data.

3. Restricted members in groups

Maybe the limit of creating 256 groups in WhatsApp per user is a Welcome for gathering family and friends. But, how this number can be considered sufficient enough for an organization where it has an unlimited number of teams and departments? A product development team, an agile team of dedicated professionals, a sales team, a team of board members, etc., might have a different work orientation defined for each group.

Switch to the credible office chat application within no time, and create unlimited groups to experience uninterrupted group conversations.

How different are Troop Messenger-Group Conversations?

They are a way different from other business chat applications. The biggest advantage with Troop Messenger Groups is, the admin of the group can add unlimited group members, unlike Whatsapp. Orange Members can also be a part of group conversations, but with the limitations set by the admin of the application. He/she can allow Orange Members to chat with only members of the organization or groups that they decide.

4. Unauthorized Communications

As there are no defined set of admin controls to regulate the users in WhatsApp, there is a potential risk of personal and unauthorized communications taking place within the app. Since you cannot monitor communications happening across the application, anyone can create unauthorized groups and communicate privately. In a case where a non-employee has to communicate with in-house employees, corporate applications can restrict them to use only certain features to stay connected with people the admin decides.

How simplified are Troop Messenger authorized communications?

Everything and Anything that happens across Troop Messenger is authorized. But how?
Here are the simple answers;

• only admin can add users to the application( no other user has the control to add or invite others into the application);
• the admin can impose the enriched permission settings on each user to control them in using the features.
• these authorized users create groups with unlimited members in it;
• Once when an employee is terminated, thereby his/her access to the application is completely taken away by the admin.

Hence, all forms of conversations, those including direct messages, group conversations, file sharing, screen sharing, etcetera. All happens within authorized users.

5. A mix of personal and business conversations

The moment we think of WhatsApp, we feel it has been made to personalize communications. With a strong conviction, one can say it has completely replaced SMS with its ease of use and with the concept of a single conversation window for multiple message sharing. Usually, we receive messages as diverse packets through SMS, but here in WhatsApp, the conversation history is available within a single window. A mix of personal and business conversations strictly should not take place within a single interface, as it creates confusion and a lack of motivation for work.

One must essentially feel professional while exchanging office information, and it happens only with professional business messenger applications. A wholesome bunch of collaboration features such as screen sharing, advanced search controls, guest-collaboration features, dashboard, analytics, user permission, and settings, etc., have been specially designed in-office chat applications to make office work productive.

Why Troop Messenger stands best for Business?

As a team, we strongly believe that in any case, the personal messengers doesn’t fit the bill for office work routines. The transactions that take place in the business world are a way different from those of personal interactions. To fill the need gap of corporate message-exchanging, it underwent a good number of iterations to bring the best business value to its users from thoughtfully designed features.

Explore the tool to understand how you can benefit from using it.

6. Restricted File Sharing Limits

Though the maximum file sharing limit of WhatsApp is 100MB, it doesn’t work well for corporates data transactions, as the file sizes they share such as text files, images, videos, wireframe designs, etc., might exceed the 100MB limit.

To have seamless file sharing experience, opt the best business collaboration application in a town like Troop Messenger which offers limitless file sharing option to its users.

Does Troop Messenger allow unlimited file sharing?

Yes, it says that “Eventually files are the ones where we store our work and share them across our teams. So, choose the best communication application that supports high file size limits like Troop Messenger.

7. Loss of Official Data

When you use WhatsApp for office work, and in case, if your mobile device is lost or stolen, then assume all official data along with device has also been lost. This kind of issue arises, as WhatsApp does not provide a security layer to prevent data loss or theft.
But,
whereas the applications that are specially designed for corporate communications, ensure data backup in their servers for future retrieval. As there is no data access control defined on the user accounts of WhatsApp, the confidential enterprise data may be accessed by others in case of mobile theft.

How robust is Troop Messenger’s data backup?

Worried about the official data that’s been lost from your personal messenger?

Yes, it often happens with Whatsapp! But not in the case of Troop Messenger, as data back up takes place by default. You need not set any preferences to happen so. In contrary to this, WhatsApp asks you to manually set the preferences to backup your chat conversations by daily, weekly, and monthly.

8. No third-party app integrations

Unlike the core business collaboration applications like Slack, Flock, Microsoft Teams, Ryver, etc., WhatsApp doesn’t support any third-party app integrations. Usually, I don’t see any need for integrations when we use it for personal communications. But, the scenario completely differs from corporate work routines.

For instance, integrating a full-scale project management application like Asana into your office collaboration tool allows to divide your project flows into tasks and, besides you can allocate tasks to cross-functional teams for the quick completion of the projects.

What Add-Ons does Troop Messenger Support?

Troop Messenger supports a good number of in-house built add ons for increasing users work productivity. Applications such as Click to Magic, To-Do targets, Time Dynamo, Audio-Video Conferencing, TM Monitor etcetera can be successfully integrated for enhanced user experience.

9. Decreased Productivity

As WhatsApp is not made for end-to-end office work routines, adopting it at your workplace may damage your productivity. The essence of professionalism is never noticed in the mindsets of employees, as the interface reminds them of personal messaging. Many large enterprises across the globe don’t prefer to use a personal messenger to perform office work. Instead, they can rely on commercial applications that were uniquely built to run effective work schedules.

Does Troop Messenger increase your work productivity?

Of course Yes. It’s been precisely made to ease work communications. The rich-feature stack allows you to talk about work, share files, exchange live conversations, track your tasks, preview files, get project updates from individuals and groups, share your screen to discuss work, live track your remote work teams etcetera make efficient productive outcomes.

10. Policy Violation

Last, but the most important aspect besides all the above is a policy violation. Whatsapp clearly states in its policy terms that it has to be strictly used for personal messaging only. Being an enterprise, if you breach their policy and encourage your employees to use it for office purposes, you have to be ready to pay a hefty fine as per the civil laws stated in the terms and conditions policy.

11. Data ownership

Do you want to be the data owner of your organization’s data or no? The choice is yours!
Unauthorized, unorganized, non-channelized message-exchanges happens across WhatsApp! It is a tough task to keep a track of chat conversations of all employees, as you don’t have the right to check their personal messenger applications to figure out any unauthorized information transfer between them and their peers.

Hold your data in your hands with Troop Messenger:
Be the admin of Troop Messenger and become the data owner with full-level control over all your corporate employee chat conversations. In a case where an employee is terminated, or left the company, or suspended, or when their phone is being lost or escaped from the Organization, etc, Troop Messenger securely holds your data in its cloud or local servers. Being an admin, you can immediately deactivate the employee access with the application.

12. Advanced Search Features

How can you filter out text files, images, videos, audio messages and more, when you don’t have an itemized search functionality as in WhatsApp?! We know that contacts and text can be filtered out effectively in WhatsApp. But, I don’t see any need for extensive search filters for personal messaging. But, yes they do bring and make a noticeable change for corporate business chat applications. You hardly see any such applications search functionality missed in them.

How about them in Troop Messenger?

There are a distinct variety of search filters present in Troop Messenger. To name them, the list goes like this; Global Search, Date-Time filters, Advanced filter group, Unread message filters, favorite users filter, smiley search filters, and message-text filters.

The functionalities of a well-designed search are defined below:

• users, orange members, deactivated/terminated employees, with Global Search.
• data by applying date-time range.
• images, videos, files, contacts, URLs, and Location using the advanced filter group.
• unread messages.
• favorite users.
• text from chat conversations.

Choose a tool for business messaging that has good search functionality.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, Rather relying on various communication channels like emails and personal messengers to exchange work communications, simply collaborate on one official platform for great work outcomes. Authorize all your business communications and data with a better designed commercial chat application like Troop Messenger!

Originally published this article: 10 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Use WhatsApp for Business Communication