The concept of organizing frequent physical meetings in modern-day corporate culture is almost next to impossible. Organizations have adopted the remote work culture, which makes it difficult to regularly arrange on-site setups. Besides, it is even more difficult for senior leadership, such as board members, to be a part of such meetings.
The only solution for organizations is to employ digital collaboration channels, and this is where board portal software comes in handy. It is an online solution that acts as a virtual workspace for boards and team leaders.
With distributed teams, different time zones, and rising cybersecurity concerns, traditional communication methods fall short. Board portals solve these challenges by streamlining access, safeguarding sensitive documents, and enabling real-time decision-making. Whether you're overseeing a startup board or managing complex governance in a multinational, this technology empowers leadership to stay informed, productive, and compliant, without the need for constant in-person meetings.
This article will help you explore board portal technology and why it is important for board members and corporate teams.
Board software explained
Board management software (also known as board meeting software) is an online platform that helps board members and administrators handle meetings and carry out their duties in a secure space. It brings everything together in one place.
Board members can view meeting materials and perform their tasks safely from any device with internet access, no matter where they are. It offers useful tools that help board members easily manage different stages of a meeting.
Why is board of directors software important for corporate teams and board members?
One of the best things about this technology is that it can easily cater to the varying needs of different industries.
“Board portal just gives you everything you need to keep a team connected in the best possible way. Remote 24/7/365 access, premium security, ready-to-use templates, digital board books, meeting calendars, and whatnot. Customized services and strict regulatory compliance according to industry standards are what make board software an even better option for professionals,” says Casey Johnson, Market Research Analyst.
Modern-day vendors offer board management software for health care, the legal sector, finance, and all types of commercial organizations. Apart from that, board management solutions are highly common in nonprofits, clubs, and government institutions. Here is why this technology is vital for teams.
1. Unparalleled security
Digital tools have made life much easier for businesses, but keeping cyber threats away is one of the biggest challenges for them. Using online meeting management solutions also opens doors for data breaches. Did you know that unauthorized access accounts for 43% of data breaches, and the average cost of a data breach is around $5 million? Relying on free or low-grade board management tools can certainly increase the chances of data breaches.
One way to minimize the chances of data breaches is to employ high-end virtual boardrooms. These solutions provide multi-layer security to keep your data safe from internal and external risks. Notable security features include:
· Multi-factor authorization
· 256-bit SSL encryption
· Granular access permissions
· Remote document shredding
· Time-based document access
2. Simplified board meetings
A virtual board portal is a paperless board meeting software that automates every single step in team meetings. Whether it is agenda building, calendar management, data sharing, or online voting, everything can take place within a single platform. Here is how the board software helps:
Pre-meeting activities:
· Set up meetings directly in the app
· Quickly create an agenda with one click
· Share the agenda with one click
· Option to save the agenda as a PDF
· Build a digital board pack
· Send the latest board pack to the directors
· Use messaging and task tracking for teamwork
· Get alerts when board documents are updated
In-meeting activities:
· Easy-to-use digital board pack viewer
· Attendance tracker
· Use of public and private annotation tools
· Collaborative tools (messaging and task-tracking)
· Digital signatures
Post-meeting activities:
· Digital distribution and approval of meeting minutes
· Attendance reporting
· Task tracking
· Archiving important documents
3. Better communication and teamwork
Effective communication is the key to success for business teams and corporate boards. Board portals provide a secure platform where users can freely communicate with each other. Their collaboration does not have to be limited to meetings only.
Board software also offers other modes of communication. For example, members can engage in one-to-one chats using the instant messaging service. There are discussion boards for boardroom users to conduct brainstorming sessions. Modern-day solutions have multilingual capabilities that allow members to communicate in languages other than English.
4. Greater efficiency
It is not hard to understand that these board solutions increase overall work efficiency in teams and among board members. Board portals minimize the chances of mistakes and ensure there is no work duplication.
They can also cater to a large number of users, which means board portals are also ideal for external communication. Things automatically become efficient when boardroom users can:
· Immediately and remotely access board materials from their smartphones or remote devices
· Keep track of the activities of their team members or subordinates
· Engage in real-time communication
· Stay updated on boardroom activities
5. Transparency
Last but not least, virtual boardroom software builds trust among the board members, teams, and important stakeholders. It keeps track of all the activities performed by the users in the boardroom (thanks to the audit trails feature). This promotes a greater sense of responsibility in users and transparency in operations.
Important tips on choosing the right board software
Keep the following in mind when choosing a board portal.
· Basic and advanced security features such as MFA, data encryption, and access controls
· How much does the vendor allow you to customize the digital boardroom
· Read board software reviews from trusted and unbiased platforms to assess a vendor’s true reputation
· Make sure the software supports third-party app integration
· Always ask for a free trial