Comparing the cost of a board portal is an important first step to select tools for governance that meet your budget and meet the needs of your board members. It’s important to compare both the upfront and ongoing costs of software used to conduct board meetings in order to get a clear estimate of the total cost.
Board of directors are increasingly recognizing the value of a modern board management system. Apart from the environmental advantages, directors also appreciate the time savings associated with having fewer emails to deal with and reducing travel costs. Other reasons for the increasing popularity of portals for boards include the ability to rapidly create and distribute board documents online, online note-taking and collaboration, and much more.
No matter the reason that drives your organisation to adopt the board portal you’ll have a vast selection of options to choose from. In a cost-effective board portal evaluation, you should take into account the following: the options for training, support features as well as the volume of data storage and security features.
The most important factor to consider is whether the vendor’s support and services will provide the amount of trust that your board members require to be able to use the technology effectively. This includes knowing the availability of a a live, in-person support service that can address questions or address issues when they arise.
It’s important to know how vendors plan to develop their products as the market continues to expand and evolve. The right vendor will be able explain how their current product is evolving to keep ahead of governance best practices and the needs of their customers.