What this comparison covers
MyComplianceOffice (MCO), Smarsh, and Global Relay all serve regulated financial services firms that need to capture, retain, and supervise employee communications. The orientation of each platform differs: MCO is a compliance management platform with communications archive and review inside the Know Your Employee suite; Smarsh and Global Relay are specialist communications archiving and supervision providers with broad channel coverage.
Platform scope
MCO
MCO runs 30+ products on a single shared platform. Communications archive (eComms Archive) and communications review (eComms Review) sit inside the Know Your Employee (KYE®) suite, alongside Personal Trading Compliance, Crypto Trading Compliance, Gifts, Entertainment and Hospitality, Political Contributions and Donations, Outside Business Activities, Registrations and Licensing, Connected Persons and Relationships, Roles and Responsibilities Needs. Beyond KYE, the platform covers Know Your Transactions (KYT®), Know Your Third Party (KYTP®), and Know Your Obligations (KYO®).
Smarsh
Smarsh positions around the tagline "Your tomorrow, secured by AI." The platform includes four components: Capture, Archive, Surveillance, and Discovery, plus expert Services. Channels supported include IM & Collaboration, Email, Mobile, Social, Web, Voice, and additional channels through a unified capture system (source).
Global Relay
Global Relay positions around "Compliance without compromise." The portfolio includes App ("compliant messaging, on any channel"), Connectors ("any data, anywhere"), Archive ("AI-powered, cloud archive"), Surveillance ("proactive supervision and risk management"), and eDiscovery (source).
Area-by-area overlap
| Capability | MCO | Smarsh | Global Relay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Communications archive | Yes (eComms Archive) | Yes (Archive) | Yes (Archive, AI-powered cloud) |
| Supervisory review | Yes (eComms Review) | Yes (Surveillance) | Yes (Surveillance with AI-assisted data classification) |
| Mobile messaging (SMS, WhatsApp) | Yes (with partnerships) | Yes | Yes |
| Voice archiving | Partial | Yes | Yes (with transcription and translation) |
| eDiscovery | Partial | Yes (Discovery) | Yes (specialist eDiscovery) |
| Personal trading | Yes | Not a primary focus | Not a primary focus |
| Gifts and entertainment | Yes | Not a primary focus | Not a primary focus |
| Outside business activities | Yes | Not a primary focus | Not a primary focus |
| Attestations and code of ethics | Yes | Not a primary focus | Not a primary focus |
| Trade surveillance | Yes (KYT) | Partial | Not a primary focus |
| Insider / MNPI management | Yes | Not a primary focus | Not a primary focus |
| Third-party risk management | Yes (KYTP) | Not a primary focus | Not a primary focus |
| Regulatory change and policy governance | Yes (KYO) | Not a primary focus | Not a primary focus |
Customer scale and evidence
MCO
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30+ products on one shared platform
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RegTech Insight Awards Europe 2025 and Deloitte's Best Managed Companies Ireland 2025
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G2 designations: Highest User Adoption, Best Meets Requirements (Mid-Market), Users Love Us, Governance, Risk & Compliance Leader
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Offices in New York, Fort Worth, Chicago, Dublin, London, Singapore, Hyderabad, and Dubai
Smarsh
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"Trusted by 18 out of 20 of the largest financial institutions worldwide"
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Over 6,500 customers globally (source)
Global Relay
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20,000+ customers worldwide
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22 of the top 25 global banks
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850+ data productions each month
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24/7/365 live support (source)
Security certifications
MCO
SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, EU-US Privacy Shield Data Protection Certification with TRUSTe, encryption in transit and at rest
Smarsh
References "industry-leading encryption both in transit and at rest, meeting the most stringent global security and compliance regulations" without listing specific named certifications in the homepage content fetched for this research.
Global Relay
ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2 compliant (source)
When firms run both
A common pattern: a firm uses a specialist archive (Smarsh or Global Relay) for broad channel coverage and long-horizon retention, and uses MCO for employee compliance, surveillance, third-party risk, and regulatory obligations. Integration between the two makes supervisory review workflows and investigation context available across platforms.
When to choose MCO
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The firm needs communications archive and review as part of a broader compliance operating system
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Supervisory reviews benefit from employee compliance context (personal trading, gifts, conflicts, case management) on the same platform
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Trade surveillance, deal review, and insider/MNPI controls tie into communications review for control room workflows
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The compliance program runs on one system of record for examination evidence
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Modular adoption across KYE, KYT, KYTP, and KYO matters for program expansion
When Smarsh or Global Relay may be considered
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Communications archiving and supervision is the firm's primary requirement with broad channel coverage needed
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Voice capture with transcription and translation, or proprietary messaging (Global Relay App), are specific requirements
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eDiscovery, long-horizon retention, and litigation holds are deciding factors
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The firm already has an employee compliance and broader compliance platform