Learn About The Board Portal Market Before You Invest

Board portal software is a great technology to introduce to your organization’s board of directors if you’re concerned that your meetings aren’t as productive or efficient as they could be, if your security measures don’t measure up to your organization’s expectations of confidentiality or federal regulations, or if you want a more convenient, engaging way to distribute your board books. It’s become a common technology in the hands of directors and if your organization is serious about efficiency and good governance, you should already be looking into adopting it. As part of your due diligence, you may also want to take a look at some of the news about information security and the board portal market before making your decision.

One of the big news items that should be of concern to boards is security, especially data breaches, hacking, and leaks over digital media that your organization uses to share sensitive, confidential, or regulated information.

Email was never designed to be a secure or confidential method of communication, having originated in the early days of the Internet when these plain text messages were visible to anyone with the ability to watch network traffic. Compromised emails belonging to significant public figures and large organizations always make the news, but far from going unnoticed by cybercriminals, smaller organizations can easily become victims, too. This is especially true if you share documents that include:

• proprietary information like patents that could be of competitive value
• financial information about the organization
• details about the company’s strategy or operations
• or information regarding the board’s decision.

Since boards regularly deal with such documents, they should all be using a technology with better security than email.

Board portal vendors like Aprio also often keep their customers informed about new challenges facing boardrooms across industries and how the right technology can help them meet these challenges. For example, the user interface of a good portal can help improve engagement from all directors, easing fatigue and improving pre-meeting preparation. You may also want to look into information regarding technology adoption and how you can utilize or manage the technology adoption patterns of different generations of directors. For example, while Millennials are typically considered tech-savvy and early adopters, this doesn’t mean that they will quickly adapt to outmoded technology. If they don’t see a technology as more efficient, more collaborative, and more intuitive than existing alternatives, they will prove reluctant to use it.

Finally, many board portal companies now regularly attend industry conferences where they present their software. If you are an administrator or director on the board of a credit union, the news blog published by Aprio is an especially useful resource to learn more. Regional conferences are constantly tackling how credit unions can face present and future challenges, including cybersecurity, technology adoption, and recruiting younger members, and they’re also a great place to find those new security and technology solutions from innovative vendors. Stay informed about board portal technology news when you’re comparing solutions so that you know how a portal can help your board meet today’s challenges. Whatever the nature of your organization, a board portal can help you run more efficient meetings and keep your documents secure.