Meghan Day

Principal Solution Designer

Board portal

Board portals are evolutionary by nature. From on-site file storage in the early 2000s to the more recent integration of AI, board portals have undergone many iterations. Yet, their purpose remains: to streamline board management and aid in better decision-making.

The vast number of board portals on the market can make it challenging to understand what they are, what they are not and what organizations stand to gain by using them. To help clarify the board portal landscape, we will explain:

• The history of board portals
• Why secure board portals have become central to modern governance
• Key board portal features to look for
• How board portals are used
• Board portal use cases
• The risks of not having a board portal
• A step-by-step guide for implementing a board portal
• A complete buyers’ guide to board management software

What is board portal software?

Board portal software is a secure platform for sharing documents, scheduling meetings, voting and collaborating, all within an easy-to-use interface designed to support governance and productivity. When packaged together, these features enable board members, administrators and other company leaders to manage meetings, collaborate and access the right information at the right time.

Though digital transformation has become the new boardroom norm, board portals weren’t always the tool of choice. Prior to the adoption of board portals, organizations relied on manual processes for board governance. These included paper-based board books, physical mail for distributing documents and in-person meetings for decision-making.

As organizations grew and board members dispersed, manual methods became inefficient, insecure and expensive. While email fills the gap with some digital communication, it lacks the security and centralization to keep up with the many demands modern boards face.

Board portals became the solution, blending the best in cloud computing with governance best practices to create a single database for all board activities.

The evolution of board portals

Nearly 65,000 companies worldwide use board portals today. That number represents a significant adoption rate since the technology’s advent in the early 2000s and the many ways providers have innovated to meet boards’ needs.

Before board portals

Pre-portal boards relied heavily on paper-based methods and traditional communication methods. Physical mail, fax and, eventually, email were the methods of distributing important documents and meeting materials. Paper board books were also essential; administrative teams would manually create, print, collate and distribute binders of board materials.

These systems were not only time-consuming but also raised security and accessibility concerns. What if a board book got lost in the mail or a director’s email account got hacked?

From the early 2000s to today

Boards first adopted early board portals to centralize file storage and sharing. These portals quickly transformed boards across industries by revolutionizing board management. These secure, centralized platforms enabled directors to access meeting materials, collaborate and make decisions from any device, anywhere. Boards with portals quickly became more efficient, transparent and compliant.

Future trends in board portal software

Technological advancements and shifting organizational needs across the business landscape drive evolution in the board portal software market. Here are the trends expected to shape its future:

1. AI and machine learning: More board portals integrate AI and machine learning algorithms. New predictive analytics will enable boards to identify and anticipate trends and challenges, while seamless automation will summarize reports and agendas to crystallize the most important insights for board members.

“AI might feel new, but it’s not anymore. At this point, everyone is deploying it, whether they realize it or not. The real challenge now is operationalizing it effectively and ethically.” – Thomas Daemen, Director, Corporate, External and Legal Affairs, Microsoft Asia

1. Heightened cybersecurity focus: Board portals will shore up their defenses as cyber threats intensify. Enhanced encryption protocols and AI-driven threat detection will likely become standard to safeguard sensitive data and discussions.
2. Greater personalization: Portals will no longer be one size fits all. Instead, board portal software may become more tailored, adapting to user preferences and organization-specific workflows. This could include role-specific views so executives and administrators can use the tools according to their unique responsibilities.
3. Improved collaboration: As AI becomes mainstream, other tools like virtual and augmented reality are emerging. These real-time collaborative document editing and messaging tools could enhance how boards work remotely.
4. More data-driven governance: Many organizations rely on data for key decisions. However, as analytics become more advanced, board portals can provide more actionable insights that identify areas for improvement in real-time. This will propel board decision-making within and outside of meetings.

Why are board portals essential in modern governance?

There are countless cogs in the modern governance machine, all of which board portals help run smoothly. This streamlined approach to board operations leads to:

• Efficiency: Board portals simplify communication and document management, reducing time spent on administrative tasks and allowing boards to focus on strategic decision-making.
• Improved security: These platforms offer robust security features like encryption and access control, protecting sensitive information from the wrong hands.
• Accessibility and flexibility: Board members can access materials and documents from anywhere using any device, increasing their ability to participate and engage with the board regardless of location.
• Compliance and governance support: Many board portals have built-in corporate governance and compliance features, like tracking meeting minutes and maintaining an audit trail, that reduce the compliance burden.
• Cost-effective: Modern boards are challenged to reduce expenses and maximize returns. Despite the initial investment, portals can lead to significant cost savings because they reduce administrative costs and the reliance on paper and shipping.

Benefits of using board portal software

Board portal software emerged from a need for greater efficiency in coordinating and executing board activities. But they’ve evolved to enhance so much more.

“Modern board portals have become an extension of the boardroom, streamlining nearly everything the board does. The most efficient boards we see often rely on board platforms, from secure communication to board meeting preparation to risk management.”

The many benefits of using board portal software include:

• Centralized information: Organizations use several different data sources to make decisions. These data sources are often fractured, making it difficult to synthesize each source and glean meaningful insights. Board portals unify data information into a single source of truth for the organization, simplifying administrative and mission-critical tasks like risk management, compliance and audit.
• Enhanced executive communication: Boards used to meet only in person, then slowly began collaborating over phone calls and emails. However, these communication channels can be inefficient, insecure and disconnected from all board materials. Board portals allow board members to communicate from any device anywhere on the same platform where they access key information and insights.
• Faster meeting preparation: Traditional board packs took countless hours of administrative labor and cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars in supplies. Board portals integrate AI and machine learning to automate these manual processes, expediting corporate secretaries’ creation of everything from agendas to minutes to board packs.
• Reduced company risk: Leading an organization today requires living with risk. Legal teams and the General Counsel are at the fore; however, lack of visibility and inefficient operations prevents them from executing proactive enterprise risk management. Without board portals, organizations risk data breaches, losing attorney-client privilege by communicating in unsecured channels and other threats.
• Enterprise regulatory compliance: Entities in any sector have countless regulations. That burden multiplies for entities that operate across jurisdictions and even around the globe — a reach that is increasingly common in today’s globalized world. Board portals helped corporate secretaries and administrative teams stay abreast of regulations now and for the future, reducing the risk of non-compliance.
• Data-driven decision-making: Effective board decision-making depends on reliable data. Board portals collect essential insights in templatized dashboards, feeding the board accurate and easy-to-digest data they can turn into a competitive advantage.

Key board portal features

Board of directors portals include features intended to simplify and centralize all aspects of board management. While free solutions can be attractive, the best board portal software has more sophisticated functionality and enhanced security that modern boards need to perform their best. Different providers may offer different features, but most boards need the following from their board portal.

1. Board collaboration

• Document sharing: Board portal software allows authorized users to share and iterate board books and other key documents with each other and key stakeholders, like external counsel and auditors. Most software includes these features, but free solutions are often limited in scope.
• Version control: Directors can view updated documents and track changes, reducing the chances of errors or duplication of efforts. Retain notes and annotations even when board materials are updated so you have a paper trail for future reference.
• Access controls: Board portals have strict user permissions to protect data you share. This includes the level of permissions a user has and the ability to revert to prior versions of a document.

2. Meeting management

• Meeting minute creation: Board portals can automatically capture key data, such as date and time, to reduce manual minute-taking. Many solutions also have customizable templates that pull information directly from agendas to reduce formatting time and yield more effective meeting minutes.
• Review management: Iterate within a single meeting minutes document to eliminate errors during review. Board portals can also assign and notify specific reviewers, then upload the minutes to the board deck once they are approved.
• Agenda preparation: Creating meeting agendas is much easier using a portal because of features that allow multiple contributors to collaborate. Portals also features drag-and-drop functionality to quickly create, refresh and distribute board agendas.

3. Decision-making support

• Voting tools: Board portals allow participants to vote directly from the dashboard. This allows boards to collect and tally votes in real time, making it easier to act swiftly and decisively.
• Real-time notifications: Many board documents require sign-off. Secretaries can use a board portal to update documents and notify those who need to sign them so obtaining signatures is more efficient.
• Discussion: Some board portals have voting with comment boxes so directors can add narratives to explain their votes. This allows all voices to be heard, especially when conducting a virtual vote.

4. Cutting-edge security features

• Encryption: The most secure board portals will follow a robust encryption protocol to safeguard information in transit and at rest using 256-bit AES encryption keys — the gold standard for security worldwide.
• Audit trails: Record all actions, events or changes made within the board portal. By offering a comprehensive digital footprint, board portals help organizations monitor activity, investigate issues and adhere to regulations.
• Legal and regulatory compliance: Board portals drive compliance in two ways. The portal itself should comply with any regulations or standards governing the storage and use of board-related data while making it easier for boards to comply with broader industry laws and expectations.

5. AI-powered reporting and analytics

• Environmental, social and governance (ESG) data: Board portals allow you to collect data and communicate progress on key ESG metrics, like carbon targets. You can also compare your performance against peer benchmarks to gauge where you stand in your industry.
• Investor communications: Board portals also bridge the gap between boards and investors by offering investors insight into aggregated company and peer group information. This includes benchmarks for sensitive topics like board composition and compensation.
• Risk management reporting: Boards can use a portal to collect insights from IT and cybersecurity teams and use that data to manage risk across the organization.

How are board portals used? Tips for making the most out of your board portal

Common board portal use cases

Streamlining global governance with a board portal

Imagine the challenge of managing a vast network of healthcare institutions and professionals, all while ensuring data security and compliance — this is the task CRICO faces daily.

CRICO insures all Harvard medical institutions and their affiliates. With a network of 26 hospitals, 14,000 physicians and more than 300 other healthcare organizations to serve, CRICO has an immense amount of data to store, search and reference.

Yet, CRICO was weighed down by a legacy process that combined physical processes, encrypted PDFs and FTP sharing to compile and disseminate board books. These tools were not only disconnected, but they also fell short of evolving security and compliance expectations.

“While the board’s ten committee meetings are held in the States, the board director meetings are often international,” Compliance Program Manager Jermaine Joynes says. “Before Diligent, handling over binders to our directors meant there was a risk of the binders being misplaced or getting into the wrong hands.”

CRICO’s need for a centralized data repository, secure document sharing and a collaborative virtual environment is a frequent board portal use case.

“It’s actually made a simple collaborative space rather than drawing from shared drives and pulling attachments out of emails,” Joynes says. “It really has given a central location that allows us to immediately turn it over, present it to the necessary stakeholders and also have control over visibility.”

The company leverages features like:

• Organizing votes and capturing proxies
• Centralizing document storage and dissemination
• Searching the entire corporate records
• Creating a clear audit trail for improved governance and compliance
• Access to historical documents or specific language captured in archived documents or meeting minutes

Harnessing the power of a secure board portal

Priya Cherian Huskins, Senior Vice President & Partner and presiding board member at Woodruff Sawyer, is a board expert. Though she now serves on two public and two private firms, her career began as a corporate securities associate at a major law firm. In that role, she assembled paper board books and then hopped on a plane to locate board members and deliver the books to them.

“[It was] incredibly difficult, inefficient, just the worst process ever,” she says. “My first reaction to Diligent was excitement that I didn’t have to juggle enormous binders as part of my carry-on luggage. Just being able to have everything on my iPad is lovely.”

Paper board books aren’t just inefficient, however. Cherian Huskins also soon realized how insecure they can be.

“Just imagine the number of confidential documents in board books that have been left in the back of airplane seat pockets,” she says. “That’s just less likely if it’s on your iPad or in a secure board portal.”

She uses Diligent Boards, part of the Diligent One Platform, to:

• Ensure the timely review of all board materials
• Keep board books secure
• Sync update materials
• Track all documents for sequential meetings
• Receive, process and refer to board materials
• Collaborate with other board members
• Access key documents from anywhere in the world

Risks of not having a board portal

Investing in a board portal is as much about the benefits of having one and the risks of decentralizing board activities. A secure board portal insulates the organization from governance shortfalls and risk management missteps. As a result, not having a board portal can expose you to:

1. Data breaches and leaks: Email is considered an insecure form of communication, and paper board books can too easily be left behind or paged through by bad actors. Managing information anywhere other than a board portal increases the likelihood of data breaches or accidental leaks that expose confidential information.
2. Compliance violations: Board portals create a compliant framework for operations by design. Without it, organizations struggle to store important documents, track activities and record all key decisions securely and compliantly.
3. Communication breakdowns: Directors collaborating across timezones can cause delays, miscommunications and confusion. Board portals offer real-time updates and keep communications in one place, facilitating better decision-making.
4. Lack of transparency: Audit trails are essential to compliance but are difficult to maintain manually. Without board portals, administrative teams may struggle to document all decisions, voting and minutes, which can result in confusing records that are non-compliant and fail to hold the board accountable.
5. Environmental impact: Paper-based systems generate unnecessary waste and have negative environmental impacts, which contradicts many organizations’ ESG goals. Digital solutions like board portals are better for the environment because they cut down on paper usage and shipping.

And this is merely the beginning. We haven't even touched on the risk of forfeiting legal privilege. For example, using external company email addresses for communications with counsel can risk sacrificing attorney-client privilege, as these emails may be monitored by third parties, as exemplified in the WeWork v. Softbank case.

Choosing the right software for your organization

Selecting board portal software is a consequential decision. Organizations should evaluate the unique requirements of their operations and industry to find software that meets their needs.

Consider the following:

Nonprofits

• Affordable pricing: Nonprofits often face limited budgets and a shrinking public and private funding pool. Selecting cost-effective board portal software is essential to ensure the cost doesn’t outweigh the rewards.
• Strict compliance: The public sector has unique regulatory and grant management requirements. These entities must diligently track financial information and be able to disclose all expenses. Software must comply with regulations and be able to support nonprofits in proving their compliance.
• User-friendly interface: Nonprofit board members and volunteers often have varying tech skills. An intuitive platform ensures all essential staff can easily access and interact with critical information and insights.
• Collaboration features: Modern nonprofit teams are often dispersed. Tools for remote decision-making and engaging volunteer teams are important ways to make your operations more efficient.

Corporations

• Scalability: Boards today are tasked with growth. Look for board portal software that can grow with the organization, support multiple committees and function across jurisdictions.
• Customization: Corporate governance structures vary from organization to organization. Board portal software should be flexible enough to adhere to your unique governance framework; otherwise, it may disrupt operations rather than streamline them.
• Functionality and adaoptability: Can your board fully embrace new governance technology? Deeper integration of board portal software within the board can streamline nearly all board functions. Consider whether an application is accessible across multiple devices, easy to use and accompanied by around-the-clock support.
• Legal and regulatory compliance: As regulations grow and evolve, board portal software is the secret to keeping up. Boards should look for compliance features like regulation tracking and alerts to avoid unknowingly becoming non-compliant.

“Staying on top of relevant regulations is difficult when so many new global laws come into play. The impact of the CTA and other regulations like it will have a tremendous repercussion if your company gets it wrong. Having the insights, having the tools, having the resources and knowing your people is more important than ever before. Be diligent and be prepared to meet these new requirements.” – Hope Cannon, Director, Legal Operations, Diligent

Educational institutions

• Compliance with education regulations: Higher education institutions must follow specific regulations, like FERPA and other education-related privacy laws. Consider whether a board portal software can meet these needs before you buy.
• Support of good governance: Higher education leaders work across departments and event campuses, many of which have their own priorities. Any board portal software you choose should grow and evolve with your organization, including the ability to evaluate board members, get visibility into rival institutions and keep your finger on industry trends.
• Stakeholder communication: Parents, faculty and community require distinct yet regular updates. Board portal software should make it easier to keep each group appraised of important changes in governance and other activities.
• Budget-friendly solutions: Many institutions face a shifting enrollment landscape, pushing them to do more with lower budgets. Look for affordable pricing that suits schools’ and universities’ often tight budgets.

Healthcare organizations

• HIPAA compliance: Healthcare organizations face strict patient privacy and data security laws. Your board portal software’s own security infrastructure should be equally rigorous to reduce the risk that patient information will fall into the wrong hands.
• Secure communication: Discussions within healthcare organizations are sensitive in nature and may involve specific patients or organizational strategies. Encrypted messaging via cloud-based board portals can facilitate real-time collaboration without sacrificing security.
• Crisis management tools: No healthcare organization can fully avoid a crisis. However, your board portal determines how coordinated your response to public health emergencies will be. Look for features that promote fast and reliable information sharing and decision-making.

Financial institutions

• Advanced security features: Financial data is highly sensitive and often the target of cyberattacks and data breaches. Board portal software for financial services should have robust encryption and multi-factor authentication to protect financial data and discussions.
• Regulatory compliance: Look for board portal software that adheres to key regulations like the Sarbonnes-Oxley (SOX) Act, Basel III, or other financial regulations.
• Reporting and analytics: Financial services often face rapid change as markets evolve and priorities rise and fall. Board portals should offer detailed insights to fuel essential regulatory reporting and the strategic decision-making you need to maintain your competitive advantage.

Government agencies

• Transparency: Government agencies must balance keeping data secure and offering transparency to the people they serve. The best board portal software for governments should facilitate public accountability and compliance with transparency regulations.
• Compliance with government regulations: Government agencies face specific and stringent governance standards that apply to public sector organizations. The board portal you choose should be designed around these standards, ensuring you have the right tools to succeed in your sector.
• Audit trails: Public sector regulatory reviews and internal audits require detailed logs. Board portals for the government must make it easier to keep and store these logs securely so they can be easily accessed for reporting or upon a regulator’s request.
• Accessibility: Governments are subject to unique accessibility requirements, including the Americans With Disabilities Act. Consider whether your board portal is accessible to users of all abilities.

Implementing a secure board portal

Adopting a board portal can significantly improve governance and efficiency. However, implementing the solution properly is essential. Below are the key steps to take to be successful:

1. Assess your needs: What are your organization’s current board management best practices, and what are your paint points? This will help you determine the board portal features you need. For example, if you struggle to keep documents organized, you should look for a portal with robust document management.
2. Choose the right platform: All board portals are not created equal, so you should select a provider carefully. Consider not only the features but also how easy the platform is to use, the overall cost and whether you’ll have customer support at onboarding and beyond.
3. Review security protocols: Assess how secure the board portal is. The software provider should offer a trust center documenting protocols it follows, such as AES 256-bit keys for encryption, and whether it adheres to frameworks like NIST or SOC II. Board portals that lack transparency about this information may not be sufficiently secure.
4. Engage stakeholders: Get buy-in from those who will need to use the portal, such as the board chair, corporate secretary and IT department. Recruit feedback from a variety of departments to ensure the board portal can meet all needs. Making the business case can also help get leaders on board.
5. Develop a roll-out plan: Create a phase implementation plan to introduce the portal gradually. This can reduce friction for those used to manual processes. Include clear timelines and expectations for training, testing and deployment.
6. Train users: Often offered by your board portal provider, training is essential to help all users make the most of the portal. Take time to create ongoing support and resources such as tutorials or a help desk to ensure users feel comfortable with the system.
7. Migrate data: Transition both current and archived board documents and meeting materials into the board portal. Validate that everything is securely transferred and organized so users can access it easily.
8. Test security features: Review the portal’s security features to ensure they meet your organization’s standards. Run security tests to check for vulnerabilities before fully going live.
9. Launch and monitor usage: Officially release the portal for all board activities. Monitor usage consistently to make any adjustments that would improve users’ experiences.
10. Evaluate and optimize: Regularly review the portal’s performance and gather user feedback to determine how it impacts board operations. Update the portal as needed to take advantage of any new features.

Why do 1M+ users rely on Diligent?

The business environment is becoming more intricate and unpredictable. Traditional paper and email-based board management techniques can no longer keep up with the rapid pace of change.

Diligent Boards, part of the Diligent One Platform, assists board members, administrators and executives in collaborating swiftly as challenges and opportunities emerge. Rather than checking data in one system and communicating about it in another, Diligent empowers boards to collaborate in a single, secure platform built for holistic risk intelligence.

“Diligent allows us to clearly open the doors to how we are making decisions. In one screen, we have our video, agenda and supporting materials for members to view and follow along.” – Dr. R.J. Gravel, Deputy Superintendent, Glenbrook High School District 225

That’s what better board management looks like: boards having the insights they need to make smart, strategic decisions with data-driven confidence.

Reasons why customers love Diligent Boards

Find the right board portal to maximize your performance

Behind many modern boards, there is a board portal. Today’s boards are pulled between fostering transparency, safeguarding information against new security threats and keeping pace with global changes. Secure board portals are the secret to doing it all.

Yet, not all governance platforms can keep up with the pressure of modern board management. Diligent Boards, part of the Diligent One Platform, is the only board portal software that integrates AI, productivity and security in an easy-to-use platform that makes both directors’ and administrators’ jobs easier. Download our guide to see the must-ask questions as you research board portals — including the features you shouldn’t purchase a board portal without.

FAQs

How much does a board portal cost?

The cost of a board portal varies based on features, the size of the organization and the number of users. Pricing can range from $10,000 per year for smaller organizations and upwards of $50,000 per year for more robust solutions suited to large corporations.

Can a board portal integrate with other tools?

Yes, board portals can integrate with a number of third-party tools and systems to streamline workflows. This can include document management systems, video conferencing tools and email and calendar services.

Does the need for a board portal depend on organization size?

Organization size can influence the need for a board portal and its application. Smaller organizations may find features like document sharing and meeting management sufficient, while larger organizations may prioritize advanced tools like compliance tracking and collaboration. In either case, though, a board portal can lead to greater efficiency, transparency and communication.

Download the board portal buyers guide today.