Ever since a 1995 essay in the Harvard Business Review coined the term “disruptive innovation” to describe technological developments that create new markets and change the way business is done, forward thinking business people have been on the lookout for ways in which new technology can open up new possibilities. In the past twenty years, the speed at which new software has developed has fulled a series of revolutions that have left very few sectors untouched.
It should not be surprising, then, that how decisions get made at the highest level have also seen change. Board portal software, which allows boards of directors an unprecedented ability to communicate and share ideas and data, has brought about its own revolution in board management.
Here are some of the ways that the benefits of utilizing board portal software are changing how boards connect across industries to leverage simpler communication to increase productivity.
Increased Productivity
The board is the cerebral cortex of any organization, and the board meeting is where the synapses fire. But in order to be productive, a board needs to have information to work with. A board meeting where half the time is spent reviewing documents and getting everyone up to speed is not only a waste of time, it’s a wasted opportunity.
A lot of time and energy can be spent making sure every member of the board has the information they need, which is why administrators are increasingly turning to board portal software to increase their productivity by making it easier and faster for board members to receive and process the information they need.
Accessibility
With literally dozens of ways of connecting, from email to text messages to instant messaging programs to video chat, communicating with other board members is easy. But the sheer volume of information that gets shared in the modern workplace means it is also easy to lose track of things. How many times have you received an email asking you to re-send a document you sent weeks ago?
When running a board meeting, you want to be confident the information directors need is at their fingertips, and you don’t want any questions about what email chain that document was sent in. Board portal software functions like a secure document receptacle, and any member who has been given access credentials can access everything that has been shared, making it much easier to find the necessary information.
Flexibility
More than ever before, business can be conducted from anywhere. This is as true for high-powered executives, who can now chair a meeting from a hotel suite or the C-suite, as it is for busy fathers and mothers trying to strike a work/life balance by keeping an eye on their kids at home while working remotely.
Flexibility, once a perk, is now a necessary component of any new software system. Board portal providers like Aprio know their products need to meet a range of different needs, which is why they have engineered systems that can be seamlessly used on a variety of devices both on and offline.
The only constant in business is change. As organizations face new challenges and new frontiers, their boards need to be able to respond seamlessly to changing conditions. Board portal software is one of the ways this response can be facilitated.
