The Complete Guide to Boardrooms and Tips for Choosing the Best One

Must read

Marleny Hucks
Marleny Huckshttp://MyrtleBeachSC.com
Marlene (or Marleny as she is known in Spanish) is a mentor, teacher, cross-cultural trainer, storyteller, writer, and for those who have been under her leadership or simply sat across the table from her, she is a mirror of destiny. Her love of word and image were formed early on by one of her heroes, Dr. Seuss. If you asked those who know her well, they would describe her a compassionate, funny, wise, curious, honest, real, strong, sensitive and totally human which comes out as she teaches and writes. She sees all of life, even the most mundane, through faith and believes that who we become as we live this side of the veil is what matters not the journey itself or our circumstances. Marleny Hucks has spent her life crossing bridges. She comes from a diverse background of ministry roles and contexts as well as has transitioned in and out of the business world. Having lived outside the country as well as traveled extensively she has a fascination with culture causes her to live her life within a global mosaic no matter where her feet are planted. Marlene currently lives in South Carolina with her husband David, who owns a news company but who she says is a “crime fighter”, bringing light into darkness in their systems of their city. Marleny currently works as a content management specialist covering Myrtle Beach News for MyrtleBeachSC News.

Board portal software has turned out to be a game-changing solution for the corporate world. It has just changed the way of doing things for upper and middle management. From seamlessly managing long, complex board meetings to ensuring safe communication and sharing, the virtual boardroom has a solution for everything.

What follows next is a detailed guide on the board software, including:

  • What is a virtual boardroom?
  • How does it help businesses?
  • Who can use board portal software?
  • How to choose the right virtual board software?
  • What are the top virtual boardroom providers?

What is virtual boardroom software?

Virtual boardroom or board management software is a digital document storage platform and an online board meeting solution for senior or mid-level officials in corporations, organizations, nonprofits, unions, associations, and government agencies.

These officials may include company directors, corporate governors, executive committee members, CFOs, CEOs, corporate secretaries, union leaders, and departmental managers.

Digital document repository

Board management software is a cloud-based document repository where you can safely store, share, annotate, edit, view, and distribute documents without needing any third-party app. Many experienced board vendors come with built-in file format convertors which turn documents into PDFs for easy viewing. 

Paperless meeting solution

Virtual board software makes board meetings completely paperless. For instance, you can prepare board books, meeting agendas and minutes, and take notes electronically without requiring paper. Similarly, other documents such as financial statements, policy manuals, and monthly and quarterly reports can be converted into digital form and made available to boardroom users.

Who can use board portal software?

Board portal software is particularly developed for senior officials in any corporate setup. It is common in commercial organizations like banks, financial institutions, the legal industry, oil and energy, the healthcare and education sector, the information technology sector, and other commercial bodies.

In addition to that, nonprofit organizations, associations, unions, clubs, and even government agencies use board management software regularly. Common users of boardroom technology include:

  • Directors
  • Executive committees
  • Corporate governors
  • CEOs
  • CFOs
  • Departmental managers
  • Investors
  • Shareholders and stakeholders
  • Report writers
  • IT teams
  • Unions and associations
While board rooms are a common solution, choosing one can be difficult. We recommend you go to the website similar to TrustRadius, G2, Capterra, or Software Advice, and find tons of helpful board portal reviews there. Other customers’ real feedback should be at the forefront of your choice.

Benefits of board management software

1. Board document management

As mentioned earlier, board software is a central document repository for boards to manage their documents. The platform has all the necessary tools for editing, creating, sharing, annotating, viewing, and distributing documents in real-time.

2. Platform and documents security

Virtual boardroom security is divided into multiple layers to protect data from numerous dangers. Platform security features include two-factor authorization, fingerprint logins, remote device deletion, IP address access restrictions, granular access, etc.

For document protection, board software has features like document access control, 256-bit SSL data encryption, digital watermarks, fence view, document access revocation, and document shredding.

3. Fast and efficient board meetings

Board software gives boards the luxury to manage their meetings in an efficient and cost-saving manner. The board secretary can easily:

  • Prepare and share digital meeting agenda within the boardroom.
  • Take notes and minutes during the meeting and share them with participants later.
  • Mark attendance digitally in the software.
  • Create digital board packs or board books and share them with board members.

Similarly, the platform boasts video and audio conferencing tools for board meetings, presenter mode, voting tools, live polls, and electronic signatures.

Best of all, these digital documents reduce board members’ traveling expenses for meetings and paper and printing costs significantly.

How to choose the right boardroom software?

The growing demand for boardroom software enticed more and more providers in the market. It created more options for the users but also brought confusion.

How do you know which boardroom software is good for your business? Which service provider should you trust? Following useful tips can simplify the process for you:

  • Start with identifying the objectives and needs you intend to fulfill with the board software.
  • Define a budget and the features needed
  • Prepare a list of potential vendors and compare them based on ease of use, security, industry-relevant experience, customer support service, geographical presence, customization, and precious track record.
  • Look out for basic meeting management, security, and document management features.
  • Fully understand the pricing mechanism used by the boardroom vendors
  • Contact potential vendors and get your queries answered
  • Read online customer reviews for accurate analysis of the vendors
  • Ask for free trials

To save you some time on search, we’ve researched the market of board portals, so here are some of the best solutions for your consideration:

  1. OnBoard Board Management Software — major industries include banks and nonprofits
  2. Azeus Convene — common users include telecommunication and IT companies
  3. Nasdaq Boardvantage — common users include the healthcare sector and banks
  4. iDeals Boards — common users include the legal industry, executives, and the healthcare sector
  5. Diligent Boards — major users include banking and nonprofits

Final words

The virtual board software is an electronic document repository and paperless meeting solution for corporate executives, directors, CEOs, CFOs, board secretaries, and other forms of leadership. 

In our opinion, some notable boardroom vendors include iDeals, Diligent, Azeus Convene, and Nasdaq Boardvantage. However, we recommend conducting your own comparison and research to make an informed decision.

More articles

Latest article

- Advertisement -