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Global Relay vs Smarsh: Which is the right archiving solution for your needs?
At a glance, the two options seem pretty similar. Both support email, content, and text message archiving. They also both have excellent eDiscovery and search features, built-in security settings, and the functionality you need to stay TCPA compliant.
Smarsh and Global Relay even have similar reputations in the enterprise information archiving space. For instance, according to Gartner Peer Insights, Global Relay has a rating of 4.1/5 compared to Smarsh’s rating of 4/5. So, how do you make the right choice?
In this guide, we’ll explore the features, and benefits of both solutions, to help you make an informed decision for your archiving needs.
Do You Need a Message Archiving Tool?
Before we look at the main differences, features, and benefits of Smarsh and Global Relay, you might be wondering whether you actually need an archiving tool in the first place. Why archive text messages, email conversations, or phone calls?
The simple answer is that archiving is crucial to staying compliant with a range of industry regulations. While different sectors have their own rules about how information should be collected and stored, companies in most industries are required to securely store communication data.
Typically, if you want to avoid fines and legal issues, you need to invest in more than just 10DLC registration for business, or encryption protocols for messaging apps. You also need to store data in a “Write Once, Ready Many” (WORM) format for auditing purposes. This is where archiving tools come in handy.
Plus, learning how to archive text messages and other communication data securely ensures you can dive into your data when necessary to surface crucial insights. Clerk Chat integrates with both Smarsh and Global Relay, allowing you to connect your archiving system directly with Clerk Chat.
With Clerk Chat, you can easily export conversation logs from your phone number inboxes. This means you have the flexibility to access and manage your archived data directly from your Clerk Chat settings, depending on your access level.
Both Global Relay and Smarsh offer powerful archiving capabilitities and make it much easier for you to adhere to archiving requirements. Let’s see how these platforms compare.
Smarsh vs Global Relay: What is Smarsh?
Smarsh is a leading platform in the digital communications capture, archiving, and compliance market. The software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution offers access to a range of features that help companies to surface and reduce risks, handle data governance, and protect their reputation.
Smarsh is often used for archiving for financial advisors, for a few reasons. It offers access to customizable retention policies you can adapt to meet regulatory requirements set by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and Security and Exchange Commission.
Plus, you can export data connected to your messages in a range of formats, making it easy to conduct audits, and analyze insights. Smarsh even offers specific solutions for companies in various industries, including financial services, government, healthcare (for HIPAA texting), and law enforcement.
Smarsh Core Features
Smarsh is a highly flexible platform, with a range of valuable tools for businesses of all sizes and industries. Whether you’re looking for archiving for a finance SMS solution, or you need to capture data from email, social media, voice, or web apps, Smarsh has it all.
The platform combines all of the tools companies need into specific platforms, such as:
- Enterprise platform: The Enterprise platform includes all of Smarsh’s capture tools, eDiscovery capabilities, and archiving functionality into a single toolkit for larger companies. It’s ideal if you’re investing in SMS messaging for enterprise purposes or omnichannel conversations with customers.
- Compliance management: With the compliance management kit, companies can access a professional, secure archive, web archive system, and a range of business solutions for analyzing, searching through, and exporting data.
- Cybersecurity and risk management: Smarsh’s cybersecurity solutions include proactive threat monitoring tools, surveillance capabilities enhanced by artificial intelligence, and vendor risk assessment solutions.
- Digital safe: The Digital Safe from Smarsh gives companies an industry-leading environment for monitoring and managing data. The solution includes context-based search, managed services, rich insights, reporting, analytics, and policy customization.
Global Relay vs Smarsh: What is Global Relay?
Global Relay is another leading archiving platform, and one of the top Smarsh competitors. Like Smarsh, you can use Global Relay to capture and store various forms of communication data, from instant messaging, to SMS, voice calls, email, and files.
With Global Relay text message archiving, you can retain compliance with industry standards, and easily conduct investigations into your data. Global Relay connects with a wide range of communications channels, features its own AI-powered cloud archive, and even offers access to proactive supervision and risk management tools.
The company serves 20,000 customers worldwide, and complies with common regulations for things like FINRA or SEC text messaging. It also includes collaboration tools that make it easy for teams to work together on information governance.
Global Relay Core Features
Global Relay is very similar to Smarsh in its selection of archiving, eDiscovery and governance tools. If you’re using text messaging for insurance, or omnichannel messaging for any kind of regulated industry, Global Relay can help to ensure you stay compliant.
Some of the key features offered by Global Relay include:
- Omnichannel data capture: Comprehensive capture of all voice, email, social media, online app and SMS messages for companies, with eDiscovery and search built-in. You also get AI in your eDiscovery system, to help you quickly search for data.
- Cloud archive: The AI-powered cloud archive ensures you can meet the strict record-keeping requirements of any industry. Whether you’re focusing on 10DLC compliance and TCPA, or digital communications governance, this archive is a great tool.
- Surveillance and security: The proactive surveillance and security tools built into Global Relay offer access to AI-assisted data classification, automated workflows, escalation tools, and auditing reports.
- Services: Alongside a range of SaaS solutions, Global Relay also offers access to various services, including support for data migration, discovery as a service, and more.
Global Relay vs Smarsh: Ease of Use, Pricing, and Support
Notably, neither Smarsh nor Global Relay offer a lot of transparent information about their pricing. That’s because both companies offer organizations a customizable suite of products and services they can adapt to suit their needs. Your pricing will vary depending on whether you’re archiving SMS for small business needs, or using omnichannel capture and discovery tools.
Both tools are pretty similar in terms of ease of use and customer support. Smarsh takes a little more getting used to, according to most customers, and has fewer training resources available for beginners.
However, both tools do make it easy to integrate your system with the communication platforms you already use. In fact, we even offer a Global Relay and Smarsh text message archiving integration here at Clerk Chat, for one-click connections.
Both Smarsh and Global Relay also have an excellent online community, where you can seek out extra support from other users. Plus, they both provide consistent technical support, although Global Relay offers a wider range of additional services.
You can contact both companies by phone, email, or live chat, or simply access the free resources they offer on their websites to troubleshoot common problems yourself.
Global Relay vs Smarsh: Which is Best?
So, Smarsh vs Global Relay: Which should you choose?
Ultimately, it all depends on your preferences. Both of these tools offer excellent archiving and eDiscovery capabilities for businesses in a range of industries. They’re both relatively easy to use, although Smarsh can have a slightly higher learning curve.
Plus, they both offer access to a range of AI-powered tools and resources that can help you thrive as you learn how to protect SMS and other messaging strategies in your business.
Global Relay has a slightly better reputation for its overall ease of use, access to bonus managed services and features, and technical support. However, Smarsh is constantly evolving, and is frequently named a top vendor in the information archiving landscape.
We’d recommend getting a demo version of both platforms if you’re unsure, for a behind the scenes look at which system you feel most comfortable with.
Improve Archiving and Security with Clerk Chat
Once you make your choice between Smarsh and Global Relay, it’s important to ensure you’re using communication platforms that integrate seamlessly with these tools. Fortunately, Clerk Chat makes maintaining security and compliance a breeze.
Not only do we offer access to a wide range of resources, covering everything from A2P 10DLC compliance to TCPA checklists, but our intuitive messaging platform integrates with both Smarsh and Global Relay seamlessly.
Plus, with Clerk Chat, you can rely on end-to-end security, encryption, and access control features, intuitive AI capabilities, innovative templates, and powerful automation capabilities.
If you’re ready to take your customer communication strategy to the next level, and want to ensure you’re staying compliant, try Clerk Chat today.
