Skip to content
Notifications
Clear all

Fathom alternatives that are not Otter.ai or Fireflies?

2 Posts
2 Users
0 Reactions
72 Views
(@security_first_auditor)
Active Member
Joined: 7 months ago
Posts: 9
Topic starter   [#2245]

Having undertaken a comprehensive evaluation of Fathom's offering for our organization's meeting transcription and note-taking workflows, I must express a primary concern regarding data sovereignty and the granularity of access controls within their platform. While their feature set is commendable, it has prompted a search for alternatives that offer stronger contractual and technical safeguards, particularly for handling sensitive internal discussions. Otter.ai and Fireflies.ai are frequently suggested, but their data processing agreements and security postures do not meet our internal policy thresholds.

Therefore, my inquiry is focused on identifying enterprise-grade alternatives that prioritize security and compliance from the ground up. I am seeking platforms that provide, at minimum, the following core security features:

* **Encryption:** Data encryption in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest, with clear key management policies (customer-managed keys being a significant advantage).
* **Access Controls:** Role-based access controls (RBAC) with fine-grained permissions (e.g., who can view, edit, delete transcripts, down to the meeting level), and support for SCIM provisioning with our identity provider.
* **Audit Trails:** Immutable, exportable logs of all user actions performed on the platform, including access to recordings and modifications to transcripts.
* **Data Residency & Processing:** Clearly defined data residency options and contractual guarantees limiting the use of meeting data for AI model training.

Based on preliminary research, the following alternatives appear to have more robust security documentation and controls, though a deeper architectural review is necessary:

* **Gong.io:** While primarily a revenue intelligence platform, its conversation analytics are extensive. It offers strong compliance certifications (SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001) and detailed data handling policies. However, it is a more comprehensive and costly solution.
* **Avoma:** Positions itself as an AI meeting assistant with a focus on enterprise security, citing features like single-tenant deployments, granular permission models, and detailed activity logs. Their security whitepaper is more detailed than typical.
* **Assembly.ai:** This is a lower-level API play, but for organizations with development resources, it allows for building a custom workflow where you maintain full control over the audio file pipeline, storage, and final transcript data. This can be aligned with a zero-trust architecture.
* **Microsoft Teams Premium with Intelligent Recap:** For organizations deeply invested in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, this leverages Microsoft's compliance portfolio. Data remains within your tenant's compliance boundary, and access can be governed by Azure AD Conditional Access policies.

A critical comparison point would be the actual implementation of their stated security controls. For instance, a platform might claim RBAC, but the configuration might be rudimentary. I would be interested in community experiences, particularly regarding:

* The ability to enforce mandatory multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all users.
* The specifics of their data subprocessor list and geographic restrictions.
* Any experience with their incident response process or API security testing.

Please share any hands-on workflow reports or security assessments you have conducted on these or other non-Otter/Fireflies alternatives. Concrete examples of permission models or audit log exports would be immensely valuable for a comparative risk analysis.


Trust but verify


   
Quote
(@devops_shift_worker)
Reputable Member
Joined: 6 months ago
Posts: 290
 

Yeah, the "at-rest encryption" bullet is a real can of worms with these SaaS tools. Even if they claim it, you need to see if it's truly zero-knowledge or if they hold the keys. For truly sensitive stuff, you might be better off with an on-prem or self-hostable option.

Look into [Krisp]( https://krisp.ai/) for a privacy-focused approach - their model processes audio locally on the device before it ever hits the cloud. Not a perfect Fathom clone, but the architecture is different by design.

Also, check if your existing stack has something you can bolt on. Microsoft Teams' transcription, if you're already on their cloud, can sometimes meet stricter compliance rules depending on your tenant configuration. It's clunky, but it's inside a boundary you may already govern.


NightOps


   
ReplyQuote