Boardroom Technology is Broken: Part One

Technology plays a crucial role in supporting board functions and decision-making. Board portals were once a revolutionary tool offering streamlined board meeting facilitation and a repository for storage and management of board documents. However, legacy board portals have not kept pace with innovations in other technology sectors. As a result, the breadth and depth of board operations they support has changed little, and the gap between their purpose-built functionality compared to using general software applications has reduced.

The rapid advancements in technology – particularly in data analytics, AI and automation – have transformed how organisations operate across various domains. Boardroom technology has remained largely static and missed out on these innovations. This limits the board’s ability to leverage technology effectively to extract knowledge and insights from data and raise the standard and oversight of board governance and compliance.

How is Boardroom Technology Broken?

Despite being a cornerstone of good governance, boardroom technology is fundamentally broken in several critical ways. The issues primarily stem from a lack of innovation and an inability to support the full spectrum of functions required by today’s boards. Here’s a closer look at how boardroom technology falls short:

1. Stagnant Innovation:

Over the past decade, while other technology sectors and enterprise software have surged forward with advancements in data analytics, automation and AI, boardroom technology has lagged. Board portals, which were once ground-breaking with features like secure document sharing and meeting management, have remained largely static. This stagnation means they have missed out on incorporating newer technologies that could enhance their functionality and relevance.

2. Limited Data Utilisation:

Board portals serve primarily as digital filing cabinets, providing access to documents and meeting notes. However, they struggle to offer meaningful insights from the data they store. Unlike other technology sectors, which utilise advanced analytics to deliver actionable business insights and predictions, board portals do not harness data in a way that supports strategic decision-making or operational efficiency. This lack of data-driven insight limits the value boards can derive from their stored information.

3. Lack of Advanced AI and Machine Learning:

Modern software solutions are increasingly powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning, offering predictive analytics, natural language processing and deep insights. Board portals, in contrast, have not embraced these technologies. They fall short in providing deeper knowledge or automating parts of complex board processes, leaving boards to navigate their work with a dated technology solution.

4. Insufficient Automation:

Automation has transformed many business processes, yet board portals largely rely on manual processes. While automation is possible for tasks such as data entry, workflow management, monitoring and reporting, board portals have limited automation features. This means that many board-related activities, from meeting scheduling to compliance tracking, are still handled manually, leading to inefficiencies and increased potential for error.

5. Inadequate Integration Capabilities:

In an era where seamless integration is the norm, board portals often operate in isolation. They lack the robust integration capabilities seen in other sectors, failing to connect with other critical business applications or data sources. This isolation prevents boards from achieving a unified view of organisational information, which is essential for informed decision-making and effective governance.

How Does This Technology Breakdown Impact the Board?

The deficiencies in boardroom technology directly affect some of the core pillars of board effectiveness, undermining the board's ability to perform optimally. Here’s a breakdown of how these technological shortcomings impact each pillar:

1. Board Insights:

• Surface-Level Data: Board portals, often functioning as digital filing cabinets, provide limited capabilities for extracting and analysing data. This restricted data utilisation prevents the board from gaining deep, actionable insights, which are crucial for informed decision-making and strategic planning.
• Inadequate Analytics: Without advanced data analytics and AI, boards lack the tools to derive meaningful patterns and understanding from their board data, which diminishes the strategic value of the information they hold.

2. Board Governance & Compliance:

• Lack of Relevant Information: Board portals often do not have the necessary information to support effective board governance & compliance. There are a variety of sources that impact the way boards must conduct and govern themselves including constitutional, regulatory and contractual. Even if this information is stored in the board portal, it lacks the ability to understand and support the board governance requirements. This fragmentation can lead to gaps in oversight and monitoring, increasing the risk of non-compliance and governance issues.
• Manual Compliance Tracking: Reliance on manual processes for compliance tracking and risk management increases the potential for errors and oversight, which can undermine the effectiveness of governance and regulatory adherence.

3. Effective Meetings:

• Knowing the Bigger Picture: Legacy board portals provide limited access to broader insights beyond the immediate board pack. Directors often prepare with only the information in the meeting materials, lacking comprehensive context from supporting data, past meeting records or other relevant sources. This restricted view can impede a director's ability to make fully informed decisions, as they miss out on deeper, actionable insights that could be derived from integrating historical and contextual data.
• Limited Interaction Throughout the Meeting Cycle: Legacy board portals are designed to support the ‘board week’ part of the meeting cycle, the busiest period when the agenda and meeting materials are published, board members prepare in their pre-read phase and the in-person, virtual or hybrid meeting takes place. Essential work in other parts of the meeting cycle, such as planning and collaborating on the agenda, aligning with committees or other board groups, and implementing decisions with the management team and organisational departments, is conducted outside the board portal. This lack of integration means that crucial preparatory and follow-up tasks are managed in separate systems or through informal channels, resulting in fragmented processes, decreased efficiency and missed opportunities for strategic alignment and effective execution.
• Lack of Automation and Integration with Board Processes: Legacy board portals often lack advanced automation and integration capabilities, confining their utility to the immediate logistics of the board meeting week and as a board document library. This limitation means many tasks, such as scheduling, compliance tracking and document management, remain manual and fragmented. Without integration with other critical board processes or systems, the portal fails to streamline workflows, leading to inefficiencies and increased risk of errors. The absence of automation also means repetitive tasks are not optimised, and the board community spends more time on administrative activities rather than strategic work. Integrating AI and advanced automation into board portals could transform these processes, making them more seamless and reducing manual overhead.

In summary, the breakdown in boardroom technology innovation adversely impacts these core pillars by limiting board insights, impairing board governance & compliance and limiting the possibility of improving meeting performance. ?Addressing these technological shortcomings is essential to enhance board effectiveness and ensure that governance processes are robust, efficient and aligned with modern needs.

In Part Two of this article, we will explore how innovative board technology solutions are addressing these critical deficiencies. Discover how modern advancements in AI and integration are transforming board portals, enabling deeper insights, enhancing governance and compliance, and streamlining the entire meeting cycle. Stay tuned to learn how these solutions are setting new standards for board effectiveness and performance. To dive deeper into how these innovations can benefit your organization, we invite you to schedule a call with our experts for a personalized demonstration and discussion.

With a clear vision focused on data-driven transformation, GOVRN has redefined the standard of boardroom technology. By leveraging advanced data utilisation and AI, they’re addressing the limitations of legacy systems and unlocking new possibilities for board effectiveness. In Part Two, we'll explore how Govrn has turned their innovative vision into a powerful, data-centric solution, partnering with experts to build an AI-driven platform that enhances decision-making and operational efficiency. Discover how this new approach could set the benchmark for modern boardroom technology and how you can be part of this groundbreaking change.

If you would like to learn more in a 1-2-1 call, please email [email protected].