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Feature

Joe Ruck
President and CEO
BoardVantage

Modernizing Board Communications:
From Portals to Mobile Communications

In ever-growing numbers, progressive boards are leveraging communication technologies extensively to improve communications with and among their directors.

By Joe Ruck

Technology is fundamentally changing the way modern boards communicate.

Less than five years ago, most board communications were paper, fax, and email-based. Companies sent out board books in advance of meetings, and directors met in person to discuss agenda topics.

Fast forward to today, and things have changed considerably. Increased regulatory scrutiny, greater globalization, deeper competitive pressures, and more active shareholders have dramatically increased both the volume and pace of board work.

It’s also no secret that much more board work now takes place in between meetings, rather than during board meetings.

Paper-based Processes Running Out of Steam
Given this changing environment, antiquated paper-based processes have run out of steam. They’re simply too slow and cumbersome. They’re also not secure. We’ve heard stories ranging from board books being left in NYC cabs, to faxes of merger agreements getting lost in hotels, to director emails being used out of context in litigation.

To deal with the speed and complexity of today’s board communications, many boards have adopted board portals to manage communications. These portals typically give directors easy, online access to current and historical board materials.

In addition to leveraging portals, more progressive boards are also beginning to adopt new technologies to further improve communications. Examples include the following:

Secure email: The last thing directors want is for emails to be taken out of context and used in litigation against the company. Secure email technologies now exist to prevent this from happening. Solutions are also available that automatically enforce document retention policies.
Web conferencing: Directors often cannot attend every meeting in person, especially committee meetings. So, many boards are adopting secure Web conferencing technologies, allowing them to share presentations real-time.
Encrypted offline repositories for laptops: Progressive organizations are deploying technologies that allow directors to download electronic board books to their local laptops for offline viewing, such as when traveling. Files are stored in fully encrypted formats.
Mobile wireless access: With the proliferation of smartphones, including Blackberry’s and even iPhones, companies are giving directors access to secure email and sometimes board documents themselves via their phones.

Objections Melting Away
Over the past year, we have seen an historical reluctance of some boards to adopt board communication technologies melt away. Objections ranged from concerns regarding security to ease of use to cost. Today, board communication technologies exist that exceed the requirements of even the most stringent global banks, while still being easy to use. And organizations have been able to demonstrate positive ROIs – often on administrative cost savings alone.

We believe that within the next 3-5 years, 90 percent of the Fortune 1000 will be leveraging board communication technologies extensively to improve communications with and among their directors. The trend is well underway today. And it’s being driven by progressive directors demanding easier, secure access to materials and greater visibility into company operations.

Joe Ruck is president and CEO of BoardVantage. He has led many high-technology companies through successful growth to IPO or acquisition. Prior to joining BoardVantage, he was senior vice president of marketing at Interwoven and part of the team that drove the company through one of the most successful IPOs of 1999. Previously, he held sales, marketing, and executive positions at Sun Microsystems, Network Appliance, and Genesys Telecommunications, subsequently acquired by Alcatel. He can be contacted at jruck@boardvantage.com.