Digital Reasoning, a Goldman Sachs-backed surveillance firm, is to be bought by information archivist Smarsh, as the pandemic sparks heightened demand amongst finance bosses for tools that can closely track employees' online activity during the crisis.

The acquisition, announced in a joint statement on 10 November, will combine Smarsh, which collects and archives over 3 billion messages daily for 6,500 clients, with Digital Reasoning, which uses high-tech software to analyse employee communications for signs of wrongdoing.