As the world moved For businesses, one of the best challenges was to ensure that their important data and intra-organizational communication is less and less vulnerable to hackers and cyber threats.
Hackers usually target the senior management, such as CEOs and directors of any organization. They are the policymakers or decision-makers and hold the company’s “topmost secrets.” The bigger challenge for the corporations was to make sure that there were no security hiccups and data leaks during board meetings as board members had to communicate through online channels.
So how did organizations overcome this challenge? The answer is board portal software that provides a highly secure and reliable virtual platform to make board meeting management a lot easier. This article is about the benefits of the virtual boardroom and how board management software can maximize board meetings’ security.
What is a virtual boardroom?
A virtual boardroom, also known as board portal software (sometimes referred to as board of directors software), is an online or virtual space specifically designed for board members to coordinate, communicate, and share documents with each other in a fully secure environment.
Virtual boardrooms make it easier for any organization to prepare and conduct board meetings easily and safely. Board software can help prepare meeting agendas and minutes of meeting, allow board members to access and share files, communicate with each other through personal tabs or in group discussion, conduct video conferencing, and have voting features.
Why do boards need board portal software?
The common question that may pop up in your mind; why do boards need virtual boardroom software when there are other meeting apps available. Here is a detailed answer to that.
First of all, let’s talk about the security measures on video conferencing tools. For instance, there are various video conferencing software available in the market, but there is always a trade-off between a secure and easy-to-use solution. Besides, most of these apps don’t use any registration, access password, etc.
Also, the meeting link is sent to different board members. Is there a specific mechanism to send or receive meeting links? This is where the hackers can pounce with the help of a “decoy” link which may look exactly like the original meeting link but is actually spam.
Then comes the option to communicate through emails, but we all know how safe emails can be. Yes, different service providers have improved their security measures, but the Yahoo data breaches are a perfect example of how good “email security” is. Personal communication tools such as Whatsapp, Facebook, etc., are also highly vulnerable to hacking. The solution to all these issues is board portal software. Here is why:
1. All-in-one solution
Videoconferencing apps can only facilitate video calls; board members have to use emails or chat apps to send and receive data or communicate with each other. More platforms mean higher vulnerability to cyber threats.
On the other hand, a virtual boardroom is an all-in-one solution for board meeting management. The board software is basically a “central” platform that allows users to communicate freely, share, read, edit, or modify documents, do video conferencing, prepare agenda and minutes of meeting, and that too at one place. In simple words, the lesser the exposure, the lesser the chances of being manipulated by the hackers.
2. High-end security measures
Security is one of the strongholds of virtual boardrooms. The two-way authentication feature makes sure that the user can access the board room by providing two different types of credentials. Then, the data can be shared in encrypted (256-bit encryption) form. The best thing is, not everyone can read a specific file in the boardroom, but only the permitted ones. This feature is generally not available in every online meeting software.
However, it is important that you choose board software that complies with global security standards. A high-quality board room, such as boardeffect, always complies with international data security standards such as ISO 27001, ISO 9001, and Cyber Essentials Plus.
Apart from a secure environment, what else can board management software provide?
Top 3 benefits of using board portal software
We have already talked about how boardrooms are secure and all-in-one solutions. Here are some other major benefits of a virtual boardroom.
1. Seamless collaboration
Collaboration between board members is extremely crucial. The biggest challenge for any business is to remove communication barriers between the board members and improve collaboration. This becomes even more challenging when the board members are from different cities or regions; you cannot fly them into every single meeting because it is way too expensive. However, a boardroom can unite them in one virtual place with just a few clicks. The collaboration becomes easier and natural with the boardroom.
2. Saved resources
Efficient use of resources is an essential element in every organizational policy. Imagine covering the traveling expenses (especially if the board members are from different countries) and administration expenses for a board meeting. Don’t forget about the paper costs!
On the contrary, you can avoid all these costs if you use a board portal. Arranging virtual meetings can help an organization save 100,000 pages per month. That is a massive favor to our environment and your organization.
3. Ability to stay on the same page
Board software can amaze you with its undiscovered features. For instance, if you feel that board members are not focused on the same part of a document, you can use a laser pointer or share annotations to bring their attention to the same page. Isn’t it great?
The takeaway
The point is simple; a virtual boardroom is simply an all-in-one solution for organizations. They can be used for one-to-one communication, videoconferencing, data sharing, and whatnot. And to top it, they are secure.
