Global Relay alternatives, and what drives an archiving quote
Global Relay sells capture, archive, surveillance and discovery from one vendor. This page reads it from its own pages, sets out what moves an archiving quote (without prices), and compares five other archives on the same SEC and FINRA record rules, by the kind of firm each one fits.
Reviewed October 2026
Best like-for-like replacement
Smarsh
Its own pages put carrier and app capture, WORM storage, supervision, discovery and letters of undertaking with one vendor, the closest match to a single-source archive.
Read the review of SmarshBest for a small RIA whose advisers text on iPhones
Archive Intel
It captures iMessage, WhatsApp and Android texts from the phones' own apps and names solo RIAs among the firms it serves.
Read the review of Archive IntelBest for a firm that wants the archive on its own servers
Jatheon
It is the one archive here sold as an on-premises appliance or virtual machine as well as a cloud service.
Read the review of Jatheon
The comparison table
| Vendor | Capture, archive, review and discovery from one vendor | Captures messages as sent and received204-2(a)(7); 17a-4(b)(4) | Audit trail or non-rewriteable storage17a-4(f)(2)(i) | Retention set per rule204-2(e)(1); 17a-4(b) | Indexed for location and retrieval204-2(g)(2)(i) | Supervisory review and flagsFINRA 3110(b)(4) | Produces records for an exam204-2(g)(2)(ii); 17a-4(j) | Channels covered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SmarshFinancial-services archive | Meets Capture, Archive, Supervision, Discovery | Meets Carrier networks and enterprise apps | Meets WORM storage for SEC 17a-4 | Meets Retention configured; legal holds | Meets Faceted search; native format with metadata | Partial Exception-based review; lexicon not stated | Meets PST, EML, HTML, XML | Meets 100+; iMessage where supported |
Archive IntelSEC and FINRA archive | Partial Capture, review, archive; discovery not named | Meets Texts from native apps; email by API | Meets WORM storage; access audit trail | Meets By channel and record type | Meets User, date, keyword, channel | Partial Contextual AI; lexicon not stated | Meets Formatted export for exams | Meets iMessage, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Teams |
JatheonCloud or on-premises archive | Meets Capture, retention, review, legal hold | Meets Carrier, app and enterprise-number capture | Check with vendor Audit trails stated; WORM not stated | Meets Retention policies enforced | Meets Keyword and LLM search | Partial AI dashboard, keyword alerts | Meets Exam-ready exports; formats not named | Meets SMS, iMessage, WhatsApp, WeChat |
MirrorWebFinancial-services archive | Partial Supervision and archive; discovery not named | Meets Email, Teams, WhatsApp, voice | Meets Write Once, Read Many | Check with vendor Retention settings not described | Meets Search any message, file, conversation | Partial Scored alerts; lexicon not stated | Meets For regulatory requests; formats not named | Meets Texts, iMessage, Teams, social, web |
ProofpointEnterprise governance suite | Meets Capture, Archive, Supervision, Discover | Meets Capture product, 80+ channels | Meets WORM preservation; audit trails | Meets Immutable retention; legal hold | Meets Full-text and metadata index | Meets Review queues, sampling, evidence | Meets Export for regulatory requests | Meets WhatsApp, SMS, iMessage, Signal |
Global Relay, read from its own pages
Start with what is being replaced. Global Relay sells one vendor for the whole job. Its finance page offers “capture, recordkeeping, surveillance, and eDiscovery solutions from a single source”, and its archive captures “email, messaging, collaboration, mobile, and voice communications directly from enterprise systems without reliance on end users”. It runs on its own private cloud: data is “processed and stored entirely in a U.S. or Canadian data center”, depending on where the firm is. It also sells Global Relay App, its own messaging and calling app, which keeps “business and personal conversations separate”.
Read against the same columns as the table, its own pages say this. The card is our reading on October 22, 2026, not a test of the product.
Global Relay against the same requirement columns
| Requirement | What its pages say | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Capture, archive, review and discovery from one vendor | Capture, recordkeeping, surveillance and eDiscovery from a single source | Meets |
| Captures messages as sent and received204-2(a)(7); 17a-4(b)(4) | Email, messaging, collaboration, mobile and voice, from enterprise systems | Meets |
| Audit trail or non-rewriteable storage17a-4(f)(2)(i) | WORM-compliant archive; WORM called optional on the Android and WhatsApp connectors | Meets |
| Retention set per rule204-2(e)(1); 17a-4(b) | Retention schedules across entities and jurisdictions; legal hold | Meets |
| Indexed for location and retrieval204-2(g)(2)(i) | One normalised archive, cross-channel search | Meets |
| Supervisory review and flagsFINRA 3110(b)(4) | Lexicon and AI review; proof-of-review reports | Meets |
| Produces records for an exam204-2(g)(2)(ii); 17a-4(j) | “Accepted evidentiary formats”; exams and regulators not named | Partial |
| Channels covered | 100+ platforms; iMessage not stated | Meets |
globalrelay.com, archive, finance, recordkeeping, connector and App pages, read October 22, 2026
On its own pages it covers every column, with export formats the one detail left to ask. So the case for an alternative is about fit, and fit is what the five archives in the table are judged on.
Why firms look elsewhere
Five reasons are worth weighing, and none of them is a defect in the product. Each one points at a different column of the table, and at a different verdict above.
- Firm sizeGlobal Relay's pages pitch an enterprise archive “designed for scale” across industries from finance to government. A one-adviser RIA may want a vendor whose own pages name firms its size.Small RIAs; firms with no full-time compliance staff
- iPhonesThe pages we read name Android texts, WhatsApp Business and its own App, but not iMessage. A firm whose advisers text from personal iPhones should ask, or look at archives that name iMessage capture.Advisers who text clients from their own phones
- Where records liveGlobal Relay runs on its own private cloud. A firm whose policy wants records on its own servers needs an on-premises option.Firms with an on-premises IT policy
- Vendors already in the buildingA firm that already pays a security or website vendor with a governance line may prefer to add archiving there rather than run another contract.Firms with an existing security or website vendor
- Rules the firm is underWORM storage is a broker-dealer condition. An adviser's records must be indexed, duplicated and safeguarded “from loss, alteration, or destruction”, which a simpler archive can meet.SEC-registered advisers with no broker-dealer
If the reason is a single channel rather than the whole archive, a narrower page may serve better: WhatsApp and iMessage archiving, text message archiving for financial firms, or email archiving software for advisers. A firm comparing the two largest suites can read Smarsh alternatives for small firms beside this page.
What drives an archiving quote
Global Relay does not put a price list on the pages we read; each one sends buyers to its sales team. So the number a firm gets depends on what it asks for. Archive Intel's FAQ is plain about the inputs: it builds a quote on a firm's “channel mix, user count, and retention requirements”, and says setup work turns on users, any “existing archiving vendor migration” and mobile device management. The same drivers sit under any archive's number, so state them the same way to every vendor and the quotes become comparable.
Seven things that move an archiving quote
| Driver | Why it moves the quote | Ask each vendor |
|---|---|---|
| People captured | Every person whose messages are kept, and whether reviewers are counted separately. | Who counts as a user: every employee, every registered person, or client-facing staff only? |
| Channels | Each source is its own capture: mail system, texts by carrier or app, WhatsApp, Teams, LinkedIn, voice. | Which channels are in the base quote, and which are added later? |
| Modules | An all-in-one archive bundles capture, archive, review, discovery and sometimes a messaging app. An alternative may sell them apart. | Which of archive, supervision, discovery, voice and website archiving are in this quote? |
| Retention and volume | Years kept multiply the data stored: five years for most adviser records, three or six for broker-dealer records, longer under a legal hold. | Is storage for our full retention period in the quote, at our current volume? |
| Moving the history | Records already kept must stay retrievable for the rest of their period, imported or left in the old archive. | Is importing our existing archive quoted, and which export formats do you accept? |
| Leaving later | The exit terms decide how records come out when the contract ends. | What are the export terms at contract end, in writing? |
| Term and onboarding | Contract length, renewal terms and setup work (device management, directory sync) sit in the quote too. | What term, renewal terms and onboarding work does this quote assume? |
204-2(e)(1); 17a-4(a), (b) for the retention lengths
Retention is the driver firms underrate. An adviser keeps most records five years from the end of the fiscal year of the last entry, and a broker-dealer keeps some for six; work out each one with the books and records retention calculator before asking for storage. To list which channels your rules make you capture, run the archiving requirements matcher.
Tick what your firm needs and copy the request into an email to each vendor. It is pre-filled for a small adviser with an existing archive.
Your quote request
- 01Firm type: SEC-registered adviser (RIA).
- 02People whose messages are captured: 6; people who review them: 1.
- 03Channels to capture: Email (Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace); Texts and iMessage on iPhones; LinkedIn and other social accounts.
- 04Modules to include: Supervisory review with flags; Import of our existing archive.
- 05Retention we must meet: adviser records at least five years from the end of the fiscal year of the last entry, the first two in an appropriate office (Rule 204-2(e)(1)). Please quote storage for the full period.
- 06Whether each review keeps the reviewer, the message, the date and the action taken (FINRA Rule 3110.07).
- 07Which export formats from our current archive you can import, and whether the import keeps the original dates.
- 08Contract term, renewal terms and onboarding work assumed, and the export terms when the contract ends.
What any replacement must still do
A new archive inherits the old one's duties on the day it goes live. Three of them decide whether an alternative is a real replacement.
Keep each record for its full period
Year 0: the end of the fiscal year of the last entry
- In an appropriate office of the adviser2 years
- In an easily accessible place3 years
17 CFR 275.204-2(e)(1)
- In an easily accessible place2 years
- Rest of the period1 year
17 CFR 240.17a-4(b), (b)(4)
Rule 17a-4(b) states the length and the two-year window but not the event the period runs from, so agree the start with your compliance counsel. The full adviser list is in Rule 204-2, the adviser books and records rule.
Store it the way the rule allows
A broker-dealer's electronic recordkeeping system keeps a complete time-stamped audit trail of every change, or it must:
Where a vendor “owns and operates the servers”, it must also file an undertaking that the records “are the property of the member, broker, or dealer” and “will be surrendered promptly on request” (17a-4(i)). Advisers are held to Rule 204-2(g) instead: records indexed for retrieval, a separate duplicate copy, and safeguards “from loss, alteration, or destruction”. It does not require WORM. The two modes are explained in Rule 17a-4 and WORM storage.
Keep the evidence of review
FINRA's supplementary material asks the record to name the reviewer, the message, the date and the action taken, and adds: “Merely opening a communication is not sufficient review.” An AI score or a lexicon hit is where review starts, not the evidence. The whole duty is in FINRA Rule 3110 supervision for small firms.
Leaving an all-in-one archive
Swapping a single-source archive can mean three swaps. Each piece has to land somewhere before the old contract ends.
The history
Records already kept stay under their retention period after the switch. Either they move into the new archive or the old one stays readable until the last period runs out. The broker-dealer rule asks the system to be able to “readily download and transfer copies of a record and its audit trail (if applicable) in both a human readable format and in a reasonably usable electronic format” (17a-4(f)(2)(iv)). Ask the outgoing vendor for that export, and ask the incoming one whether its import keeps the original dates and any legal holds.
The channel the old vendor supplied
If the firm texts or uses WhatsApp through Global Relay App, leaving the archive also means replacing that channel. Either the new vendor captures the phones' own apps (Archive Intel, Jatheon and Smarsh, among others, name iMessage and WhatsApp on their pages) or the firm adopts a compliant texting tool; the options are in FINRA-compliant texting for advisers. Any gap between the two leaves messages outside the archive.
The review trail
Past reviews are records too. Ask that the reviewer, date and action on each reviewed message come across with the message, or stay retrievable in the old archive. Our guide to off-channel communications sets out the policy side of a channel change.
Each vendor, read against the rule
Smarsh
Financial-services archive- What it is
- A capture, archive, supervision and discovery platform for financial firms. Its archive page names “immutable WORM storage for SEC 17a-4” and export “in PST, EML, HTML, XML, and optional EDRM formats”; its mobile page captures texts “directly from supported carrier networks and enterprise apps across corporate-owned and BYOD devices”. Its 17a-4 page offers letters of undertaking.
- Who it fits
- A firm that wants to swap one all-in-one archive for another without unbundling anything. Its navigation names RIAs, broker-dealers and dual BD and RIA firms, and its small-firm pages describe “exception-based review workflows” for teams without a large review desk.
- What the rule requires, and whether it meets it
- Capture, archive, review and discovery from one vendorMeetsCapture, Archive, Supervision, Discovery
- Captures messages as sent and receivedMeetsCarrier networks and enterprise apps
- Audit trail or non-rewriteable storageMeetsWORM storage for SEC 17a-4
- Retention set per ruleMeetsRetention configured; legal holds
- Indexed for location and retrievalMeetsFaceted search; native format with metadata
- Supervisory review and flagsPartialException-based review; lexicon not stated
- Produces records for an examMeetsPST, EML, HTML, XML
- Channels coveredMeets100+; iMessage where supported
- Not verified by us
- Its 17a-4(i) undertaking for your designated examining authority, which 17a-4(f) storage mode your account uses, whether iMessage capture is supported on your carrier and devices, and whether each review keeps the reviewer, date and action.
Archive Intel
SEC and FINRA archive- What it is
- An archive and supervision service “Built for SEC and FINRA Regulated Firms”. It captures “iMessage, WhatsApp, and Android business texts from native apps”, with no second phone or new number, and connects email through Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. Its FAQ says every access, search and export is logged in an audit trail.
- Who it fits
- A small adviser whose people already text clients from their own iPhones: its FAQ names firms “from solo RIAs and independent advisory practices” up to large broker-dealers. It offers no self-service free trial, per its FAQ.
- What the rule requires, and whether it meets it
- Capture, archive, review and discovery from one vendorPartialCapture, review, archive; discovery not named
- Captures messages as sent and receivedMeetsTexts from native apps; email by API
- Audit trail or non-rewriteable storageMeetsWORM storage; access audit trail
- Retention set per ruleMeetsBy channel and record type
- Indexed for location and retrievalMeetsUser, date, keyword, channel
- Supervisory review and flagsPartialContextual AI; lexicon not stated
- Produces records for an examMeetsFormatted export for exams
- Channels coveredMeetsiMessage, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Teams
- Not verified by us
- Its 17a-4(i) undertaking (the FAQ speaks of a third-party custodian arrangement), its export file formats, and whether lexicon rules can run beside the AI review.
Jatheon
Cloud or on-premises archive- What it is
- A general archive sold two ways: Jatheon Cloud, built on AWS, or an on-premises archive run “behind your own firewall with a hardware appliance or VM”. Its text page archives “SMS, MMS, iMessage, WhatsApp, WeChat, voicemail, and call logs”, and its financial page offers one-click exports of “exam-ready records”.
- Who it fits
- A firm whose policy or IT team wants records on its own hardware rather than a vendor's cloud. It also serves education, government and healthcare; RIAs and broker-dealers are not named on the pages we read.
- What the rule requires, and whether it meets it
- Capture, archive, review and discovery from one vendorMeetsCapture, retention, review, legal hold
- Captures messages as sent and receivedMeetsCarrier, app and enterprise-number capture
- Audit trail or non-rewriteable storageCheck with vendorAudit trails stated; WORM not stated
- Retention set per ruleMeetsRetention policies enforced
- Indexed for location and retrievalMeetsKeyword and LLM search
- Supervisory review and flagsPartialAI dashboard, keyword alerts
- Produces records for an examMeetsExam-ready exports; formats not named
- Channels coveredMeetsSMS, iMessage, WhatsApp, WeChat
- Not verified by us
- Which 17a-4(f) storage mode it uses (WORM is not stated), who files the 17a-4(i) undertaking when it runs on your own servers, and its export formats.
MirrorWeb
Financial-services archive- What it is
- A supervision and archiving platform for financial firms, with website archiving and a supervision agent called Mira. Its financial page says records are “stored immutably (Write Once, Read Many)” and can be searched and retrieved “for audits, investigations, or regulatory requests”. Its home page says MirrorWeb and Red Oak (advertising review) combine; the pages we read do not say how.
- Who it fits
- An adviser or broker-dealer that also keeps its website and social posts: it names investment advisors and broker-dealers, and firms from “a one-person powerhouse” to a global operation.
- What the rule requires, and whether it meets it
- Capture, archive, review and discovery from one vendorPartialSupervision and archive; discovery not named
- Captures messages as sent and receivedMeetsEmail, Teams, WhatsApp, voice
- Audit trail or non-rewriteable storageMeetsWrite Once, Read Many
- Retention set per ruleCheck with vendorRetention settings not described
- Indexed for location and retrievalMeetsSearch any message, file, conversation
- Supervisory review and flagsPartialScored alerts; lexicon not stated
- Produces records for an examMeetsFor regulatory requests; formats not named
- Channels coveredMeetsTexts, iMessage, Teams, social, web
- Not verified by us
- How retention periods are set per record type, its export formats, its 17a-4(i) undertaking, and what its combination with Red Oak means for your contract.
Proofpoint
Enterprise governance suite- What it is
- An enterprise communications-governance suite (Capture, Archive, Supervision, Discover, Patrol for social). Its archive page offers “WORM-Compliant Preservation” and review “with review queues, sampling, and evidence of supervision”. Capture can feed Proofpoint Archive “or other 3rd party repositories”.
- Who it fits
- A firm that already buys Proofpoint security and wants governance from the same vendor. It describes “an integrated solution for small and midsized organizations”; RIAs and broker-dealers are not named.
- What the rule requires, and whether it meets it
- Capture, archive, review and discovery from one vendorMeetsCapture, Archive, Supervision, Discover
- Captures messages as sent and receivedMeetsCapture product, 80+ channels
- Audit trail or non-rewriteable storageMeetsWORM preservation; audit trails
- Retention set per ruleMeetsImmutable retention; legal hold
- Indexed for location and retrievalMeetsFull-text and metadata index
- Supervisory review and flagsMeetsReview queues, sampling, evidence
- Produces records for an examMeetsExport for regulatory requests
- Channels coveredMeetsWhatsApp, SMS, iMessage, Signal
- Not verified by us
- Which mail systems and texting setups its Capture product supports for your firm, its export formats, and its 17a-4(i) undertaking; FINRA rules are not named on the archive page.
How we read these vendors
Questions firms ask
How much does Global Relay cost?
Global Relay does not publish a price list on the pages we read; its pages send buyers to its sales team. The inputs to ask about are the same for any archive: how many people are captured, which channels, which modules (archive, surveillance, discovery, its messaging App), how many years of records, and how much history is moved in. State them the same way to each vendor and the quotes compare. AdviserDeck does not print vendor prices.
globalrelay.com, read October 22, 2026
Does an RIA need WORM storage to replace Global Relay?
No. The adviser rule asks for records indexed for easy retrieval, produced promptly, kept with a separate duplicate copy and safeguarded “from loss, alteration, or destruction”. It says nothing about WORM. The audit-trail or non-rewriteable, non-erasable choice is a Rule 17a-4(f) condition for broker-dealers. A dual registrant's broker-dealer records still need one of the two modes; Rule 204-2(h)(1) lets such a record count for the adviser rule when it is substantially the same, and which records that covers is a question for compliance counsel.
17 CFR 275.204-2(g), (h)(1); 17 CFR 240.17a-4(f)(2)(i)
What happens to the old archive's records after we switch?
They keep their retention period. Adviser records are kept “for a period of not less than five years from the end of the fiscal year during which the last entry was made on such record”; broker-dealer communications under 17a-4(b) for not less than three years, the first two easily accessible. Import them into the new archive or keep the old one readable until the last period ends.
17 CFR 275.204-2(e)(1); 17 CFR 240.17a-4(b)
Who files the 17a-4 undertaking when the archive is a vendor's cloud?
Two filings can apply. The broker-dealer keeps undertakings on file with its designated examining authority, signed by a designated executive officer or a designated third party. Separately, an outside service that owns and operates the servers files an undertaking that the records “are the property of the member, broker, or dealer” and “will be surrendered promptly on request”. Ask a vendor for its letter before signing; each card above names it.
17 CFR 240.17a-4(f)(3)(v); 17 CFR 240.17a-4(i)(1)
Is any archive approved by the SEC or FINRA?
No. Neither regulator approves archiving vendors, and FINRA retired its Compliance Vendor Directory effective March 19, 2024. A vendor's “17a-4” or “FINRA” wording is its own claim; the record and supervision duties stay with the firm, which is why the statuses above are read from each vendor's pages rather than taken as certification.
finra.org/industry/cvd; FINRA Rule 3110(b)(4)