Imagine this scenario: your quarterly board meeting is next week, and you need to distribute a 300-page board packet with sensitive strategic plans to twelve directors scattered across the country. Meanwhile, your audit committee needs to review and approve financial disclosures in 72 hours, and two committee members are travelling internationally. How do you coordinate meeting prep and approvals across time zones while maintaining proper governance protocols?
Unlike small organizations where directors focus on a few action items each quarter, enterprise boards operate in a completely different universe of strategy, stakes, and expectations. That complexity can make finding the right enterprise board management software a challenge.
Board management software designed for smaller organizations may have simple meeting tools, but large organizations need more than just a digital filing cabinet or meeting scheduler; they need mission-critical infrastructure designed to track and manage board activity across multiple time zones, compliance obligations, and committee structures.
Below is an overview of how enterprise board management software can support leadership teams in large organizations, and specific features to look for. Read on for more, or skip ahead to the following sections:
- What is enterprise board management software?
- Why enterprises need advanced board governance solutions
- Key features of Aprio’s enterprise board software
- Benefits for directors, executives, and admins
- How Aprio supports enterprise-level security and compliance
- Choosing the right board software for your enterprise
What is enterprise board management software?
Enterprise board management software is an all-in-one platform that simplifies board management, from audit trails to transparency and compliance. Unlike single-purpose tools like Sharepoint, it’s a digital environment with features for a variety of board activities, such as:
- Agenda builders with features for organizing complex board packs
- Voting and task management features to centralize board decisions and action items
- Assessment and survey tools for CEO and board evaluations
- Automated audit trails and intuitive reporting software to support compliance
- Document management tools with advanced search features
- Granular permissions for easier committee management
Board portal software designed for smaller companies may have similar tools, but often lacks key features like e-signatures and search functionality for documents. This might work for smaller boards, but can create major roadblocks for enterprise boards when timing is critical. Below is a more detailed look at some of the reasons enterprise boards need to be careful when selecting board management software.
Why enterprises need advanced board governance solutions
Enterprise boards grapple with decisions that affect thousands of employees, multiple markets, and a complex web of competing interests. They need advanced tools to manage scale, regulatory compliance, and stakeholder complexity – all while synthesizing massive amounts of data from various sources.
Scale and complexity management
Board packs are often hundreds of pages long, yet only 13% of corporate directors find them extremely effective – often because administrators lack the right tools to organize complex data. Enterprise boards need to distill data from various departments, regions and business units without overlooking any critical issues.
Regulatory compliance burden
Enterprise companies face more regulatory scrutiny across multiple jurisdictions, especially in industries like finance, healthcare, energy, and other sectors. To stay compliant, they need to maintain detailed documentation of every decision, vote, and discussion for regulatory audits and legal compliance.
Coordination challenges
Getting five local business owners in a room is one thing, but coordinating busy executives across multiple time zones is a completely different challenge. Larger organizations also need to manage multiple internal committees and external stakeholders, distributing some information appropriately while protecting sensitive board documents.
All these challenges and more need to be met with software that provides enterprise-grade security for sensitive board data. Below are a few key ways that enterprise board management software like Aprio supports the scale, compliance, and coordination challenges that large organizations face.
Key features of Aprio’s enterprise board software
The difference between basic and enterprise-grade features often comes down to depth. Below is a more detailed look at how Aprio’s board management software is designed to be effective at scale, with intuitive features that align with enterprise needs.
Agenda builder and meeting minutes
While a basic agenda builder might work for a 10-page meeting packet, Aprio’s agenda builder offers an intuitive way to organize complex, multi-section documents alongside action items for a meeting agenda that helps keep directors focused.
Admins can start with customizable agenda templates, and add supporting documents in any file format. They can also assign document access to specific groups or users, then send out agendas in a single click – allowing all directors to receive the same information at the same time. Directors can annotate and collaborate on documents remotely before meetings, giving every board member equitable access to shared discussions.
From there, admins can use Aprio’s meeting minutes software to capture minutes, assign tasks, and approve motions during board meetings. All agendas, director activity, and meeting minutes are automatically recorded in Aprio for a complete audit trail that supports enterprise-level compliance.
Document management and permissions
Instead of a generic document repository, Aprio offers intelligent document management that lets the board store all confidential materials in one secure location. This includes granular permissions for document access and Document Digital Rights Management (DRM) for full control over who can edit and download documents.
Enterprise companies can keep multiple committees and stakeholders informed while ensuring other sensitive documents remain confidential. Although many boards rely on tools like Sharepoint, Aprio’s search features make it much easier for busy directors to find what they need.
Mobile and virtual meeting tools
Enterprise directors are often traveling and working across time zones, making mobile accessibility essential. Aprio’s mobile app and virtual meeting tools work across popular mobile devices and tablets, allowing directors to securely access board materials, participate in meetings, and cast votes no matter where they are.
When directors are offline, they can still review and annotate documents – and their changes will sync as soon as they’re connected to WiFi again. That means they can keep working on flights and in locations with spotty internet, so board progress isn’t disrupted by director travel.
Voting and task management tools
Aprio’s voting tools allow leadership teams to cast and record votes directly in the software, whether they’re joining board meetings remotely or in-person. E-signatures allow for fast approvals, ensuring enterprise boards can make mission-critical decisions fast.
Task management features allow boards to assign tasks to specific board members during meetings, with due dates and priority levels to keep directors focused. Directors get notifications and reminders on their phones, and can post real-time updates for the rest of the board.
This not only holds board members accountable, but also creates instant, detailed audit trails that track delegation chains. It also cuts down on work for board administrators, eliminating the need to send emails to check up on director progress.
Board reporting software
Basic reporting tools might generate simple attendance and voting summaries, but enterprise boards need to track director activity more closely. Aprio records all director activity in the software, including login activity, votes, expenses, and more to simplify reporting.
When administrators need to produce reports, they can choose from a range of customizable options and access any supporting documents in seconds. They’ll also have full visibility into IP addresses and recent director activity to verify active users and detect potential security threats.
All these features and more make Aprio a powerful platform for enterprise boards, with user-friendly tools that can evolve as your organization scales. For Meridian Credit Union, Aprio allowed them to migrate from manual processes – and then streamline their existing operations.
“Compared to others, Aprio calendaring features are the best, and Aprio’s streamlined steps to schedule or reschedule meetings is critical to us. Contact management – setting up and managing access for board members or committee members – is simplest in Aprio. It’s easy to give users read only versus active access, and that lets us provide the transparency we want across our board, without additional charges to add new committees.” – Meridian Credit Union
Benefits for directors, executives, and admins
In many cases, it’s more than just individual features that make or break the success of software implementation. Aprio is powerful enough for complex enterprise needs, but intuitive enough that busy directors, executives, and admins will actually use it – rather than defaulting to less secure alternatives like email for document sharing.
Directors benefit from user-friendly tools that make it easier to find important information, whether they’re familiar with board portal software or using it for the first time. That includes:
- Seamless offline access that lets them review materials during flights or in areas with poor connectivity, without losing their progress.
- A mobile-optimized experience with full functionality on tablets and phones, as well as virtual meeting integrations that let them connect from anywhere.
- Reduced information overload with smart search features that help them focus on what’s most relevant to their role.
Executives benefit from faster access to board progress, approvals, and communication, including:
- Faster approval cycles as e-signatures and mobile voting eliminate delays caused by director travel or scheduling conflicts.
- Real-time visibility on task completion without chasing down status updates.
- Crisis response capability with a single platform to coordinate urgent decisions across distributed leadership teams.
Board administrators benefit from an organized, secure platform for fast and efficient corporate governance. That includes:
- Automated compliance documentation that reduces the workload involved in maintaining complex audit trails.
- One-click board pack distribution to reduce time and energy spent on sending emails and physical mail.
- Simplified meeting coordination with survey tools that let boards vote on best times to meet.
Aprio also includes expert, personalized support from former board administrators who understand how time-sensitive board issues can be. Directors, executives, and administrators on your organization’s plan also receive onboarding and training from Aprio, as well as 24/7 personalized support by email or phone.
“We are very satisfied with Aprio, glad we made the switch. The level of service I have received from the support staff is outstanding. The training and video help library is also very detailed and in depth. I appreciate the continuous updates and check-ins with staff, and the emails that come out, outlining the updates. They listen to their customers and act on the customers’ feedback. The product itself is great in terms of meeting all of my organization’s needs, and then some – there are features available to me that I don’t even use fully.” – Governance Specialist
How Aprio supports enterprise-level security and compliance
Many board portals meet basic data protection requirements, but enterprise boards handle important information that sophisticated attackers might target. While basic board software might rely on standard passwords and cloud storage, Aprio meets the highest data security standards across the industry with comprehensive protection for meeting materials in storage, transit, and active use.
Aprio’s enterprise-grade security includes third-party compliance certifications including ISO 27001, SOC 2, SOC 3, HIPAA, and more to protect all documents and sensitive data with industry-leading security protocols. Enterprise boards operating across multiple locations can remotely wipe and lock data from devices, and access usage reports to protect against unauthorized use – essential features for when directors travel internationally.
Data is also protected with continuous backups, redundancy, and disaster recovery capabilities on tier 4 data centers using Microsoft Azure servers. That means more uptime and protection against major incidents that could otherwise threaten board operations.
Choosing the right board software for your enterprise
The board management software you choose could have a significant impact on your board’s effectiveness – so it’s important to choose wisely. Talk to stakeholders like directors, administrators, and IT teams to align your choice with what leadership and operational teams truly need.
When scheduling demos, it’s a good idea to ask vendors specific questions when you schedule demos to assess the software’s true fit with your workflows. That could include questions like:
“How does your platform handle 300+ page board packets?”
“What happens if directors lose internet connectivity during critical reviews?”
“Can you demonstrate your audit trail capabilities for regulatory compliance?”
As you compare solutions, take a close look at pricing to evaluate ROI. Many solutions include important features and additional seats as add-ons, which may have a significant impact on your budget as you scale. On the other hand, the cheapest solution often becomes the most expensive if it doesn’t deliver what you need.
See why Aprio is a top choice for enterprise board management software
Enterprise board software often has a steep learning curve, but Aprio’s user-friendly tools let boards reap the benefits of comprehensive features without putting a strain on directors’ time. Combined with leading customer service and security you can trust, learn why Aprio is a #1 choice for directors, admins, and executives across the board.
Ready to see the full advantages of Aprio for enterprises? Start a conversation today to assess Aprio’s fit with your board’s needs.
