The rise of digital media has made it challenging to zero in on the right intel. This new age of modern governance has seen myriad interests competing to be the first to identify and act upon insights floating around in a bottomless pool of information. The game has never had more players; companies, activist investors, the press, the public, regulators, and watchdog groups. Now, more than ever, board members and executives need the tools to sift through a never-ending flow of data in search of insights, opportunities, and risks. Governance intel software finds information on a company, its industry, and its competitors; making it easy to distribute curated content to decision-makers in support of actionable information.
Defining the Core Features of Governance Intel Software
Governance intel software is about getting the right information to the right people fast enough for them to act on it in real-time. While it's up to executives and directors to advise and act upon governance intelligence, getting that intel to decision-makers is the responsibility of gatekeepers'administrative assistants, GCs, and information specialists.
At its core, the functionality of governance intel software is simple: the isolation, identification, curation, and distribution of valuable information and actionable insights. This functionality translates into a comprehensive palette of features. Isolating intel means finding quality, informative content from reliable sources in accordance with a series of sorting, filtration, and search parameters. Identifying valuable or actionable intel means organizing content which meets search, filtration, and sorting criteria for gatekeepers to review. This organization typically takes place in a virtual library or knowledge base within the software. Curating content means allowing gatekeepers to decide whether content is worth getting into the hands of advisors and decision-makers and flagging it for distribution. Top-tier intel software makes it easier to find related insights, allowing gatekeepers to jump from article to article, tunneling down an information rabbit hole to actionable insights.
Distributing content means sharing curated content, along with the necessary context and information, with those who need it. The final destination might be the desk of an executive, board member, or the department responsible for taking action. Regardless of how content reaches its destination, the quantity of content distributed is the secret ingredient to modern governance intel software. Not too much, not too little; decision-makers need just enough intel to know how to respond. Getting it just right is one of the best indicators that all the pieces have fallen perfectly into place.
Integrating Governance Intel Software Into Your Team
Governance intel software integrates throughout your team in different ways, offering unique features and benefits to different roles. Real-time access to a curated collection of data, insights, and performance analytics equips board members trying to stay ahead of the known unknown'and, for that matter, the unknown unknown. Whether it applies to a company, its competitors, or the industry, governance intel software is the best way for directors to focus their lens for better decision-making.
To those responsible for getting the best information into the right hands, governance intel software delivers extremely granular filter, sort, and search functionality. Top-notch intel software will also leverage artificial intelligence and sophisticated machine learning algorithms to analyze, classify, and cluster content. The intent, here, is bringing actionable areas of risk and opportunity to the forefront.
Before these insights reach the desks of decision-makers, the software needs to inform the informants. Responsibly integrating governance intel software means creating email alerts and notifications. It means ensuring'through some amalgamation of user-friendly software design and effective training'that GCs, information specialists, and administrative assistants know the second something valuable surfaces.
Once valuable insights have been identified, the role of quality governance intel software becomes facilitating the curation and distribution of content in a meaningful, effective manner. 'Meaningful and effective' means disseminating the right intel and its implications without creating the perception of 'information overload'.
Successful integration is a two-way street. It takes a well-trained team familiar with the ins and outs of the software to disseminate the perfect amount of the most valuable insights to the right people. It takes thoughtfully-designed, user-focused governance intel software to meet them halfway'and then some.
Identifying Ideal Use Cases for Governance Intel Software
Given the rapidly-changing landscape of modern governance, it's understandable that the uses for governance intel software may not be immediately apparent. Decisions are a board's most vital output. Empowering effective, well-informed decisions translates to success for the company at large. However, the amount of information available today has left most companies without the technological infrastructure to support the hunt for needles in a haystack. Governance intel software doesn't just support that hunt; it empowers the hunt.
The software keeps directors informed of trends, patterns, risks, and opportunities while cutting time spent filtering through the cruft in half. The benefit to companies struggling to implement a consistent, effective, and systematic approach to news consumption, analysis, and the sharing of insights are obvious. Ultimately, the software yields better decision-making by enabling leaders to identify, address, and forecast risks and opportunities. An investment in governance intel software also means reducing or eliminating reliance on consumer-focused news aggregators and poorly-designed subscription databases.
For gatekeepers'assistants, researchers, information specialists, etc.'governance intel software creates an opportunity to consolidate information into a single database, eliminating the need to duplicate research across multiple platforms and databases. It can also play a pivotal role in the identification and forecasting of trends and patterns'both apparent and obscure'related to a company, its competitors, or across the industry as a whole. Governance intel software can be of particular use to a company's GC. Accessing the latest analysis and legal alerts from the top law firms in the world fuels opportunities for proactive legal counsel, initiatives, and solutions.
While the influence and necessity of quality intel software can be broken out into distinct use cases, information platforms such as these are well on their way to becoming integral to a new standard of modern governance. Governance is crippled by limited, disorganized, or unfocused information making its way onto the table during high-level deliberations. The increased availability of information'often from unvetted, low-quality sources'has made the implementation of quality intelligence software a growing necessity for organizations committed to the future of modern governance.
