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The 10 Best Board Governance Software Tools

Jannik Lindner
Jannik Lindner
  • Last Updated: November 27, 2023

The 10 best board governance software tools are superior digital solutions designed to streamline board management processes, enhance communication, and improve overall decision-making in various corporations and organizations.

Learn more about our top picks for: Board Governance Software

A Board Governance Software is a digital platform that assists the board of directors of an organization in managing and facilitating their roles and responsibilities. It streamlines the process of board member communication, scheduling, information sharing, and decision making. The software often includes features for secure document storage and sharing, voting and survey tools, and a centralized dashboard for tracking board activities and governance compliance. Such tools not only increase the efficiency and effectiveness of board operations but also enhance transparency and accountability in an organization’s governance.

The Best Products

Our Recommendations: Board Governance Software

  1. BoardEffect
  2. OnBoard
  3. Boardable
  4. Diligent Boards
  5. Aprio
  6. Governance Cloud by Diligent
  7. BoardPAC
  8. eBOARDsolutions Simbli
  9. BoardPro
  10. Sherpany

Pick #1

BoardEffect

BoardEffect is a board management software designed to improve efficiency and effectiveness in governance by providing a secure and intuitive platform for board directors, executives, and administrators. This cutting-edge software offers useful features for streamlining board meeting processes, managing documents, collaborating with team members, and fostering accountability. Additionally, it supports decision-making with its innovative tools for reporting, surveys, and voting. Built in compliance with the highest security standards, it ensures the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive governance information. Overall, BoardEffect is an efficient solution for managing all aspects of board governance.

Streamlined Board Workings: BoardEffect is designed to enhance governance by simplifying the board operational activities which incorporate scheduling meetings, creating agendas, and distributing board books. This reduces administrative work, makes the work easier for staff, and makes information easier to access for board members.
Efficient Document Management: The platform has a highly effective document management system that allows users to manage policies, procedures, and other important documents. This organizes all essential records in a central location, makes them quickly searchable and easily accessible.
Integrated Board Evaluations: BoardEffect has integrated board evaluations to help improve governance. This tool supports creating, administering, and reviewing board evaluations - all within the platform itself. It aligns and improves governance practices and board performance.
Comprehensive Dashboard: The platform provides a comprehensive dashboard for users giving them a complete view of the key activities and tasks at hand. This enhances the user experience, enables trustees to focus on the most critical tasks, and speeds up decision-making.
Tailored Governance Framework: Every organization has unique needs and governance processes. BoardEffect allows for a customized solution tailored to the specific needs of an organization. It enables customized profiles and access controls ensuring the right information gets to the right individuals at the right time.
Limited Customization: BoardEffect's interface and functionality are fairly standard, and aren't as customizable to the unique needs of some organizations as other Board Management Software.
User Experience: Some users find the interface not as intuitive as other platforms, resulting in a steep learning curve, particularly for less tech-savvy users.
Limited Reporting Capabilities: While BoardEffect does offer some reporting features, they are not as robust or adaptable as some comparable software. There might be limited options when it comes to extracting certain data types or generating specific reports.
Mobile Application: Although BoardEffect provides a mobile application, its mobile experience is not at par with its web interface. Some functionalities are limited on the app causing inconvenience to users on the go.
Customer Support: There have been instances where users reported that the customer support for BoardEffect is not as responsive or effective as it should be, which can lead to delays in resolving issues.
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Pick #2

OnBoard

OnBoard is a comprehensive and secure board governance software designed to streamline the process of managing board meetings and activities. It provides a platform for board members and executives to collaborate, communicate, access and review board materials, and make strategic decisions effectively. Features include real-time updates, meeting management tools, agenda builder, document annotation, voting and approvals functionality, among others. Besides its robust functionality, it highly prioritizes security with multi-factor authentication and advanced encryption to ensure sensitive information is well-protected. OnBoard aims to drive good governance and improve productivity in organizations by making board management more efficient and intuitive.

Enhanced Collaboration: OnBoard acts as a single platform for communication and collaboration, allowing board members to work together efficiently. This feature also includes real-time updates and notifications for maximum coordination.
Intuitive Decision-Making: OnBoard is equipped with survey and voting tools, enabling board members to cast their votes and make strategic decisions. The results of these votes are instantly available, expediting the decision-making process.
Resource Management: It boasts a centralized document hub where all materials can be stored and accessed, resulting in less clutter and more organization. Updates can be made in real-time and version control ensures everyone is working off the most recent documents, reducing miscommunication or errors due to outdated data.
Meeting Management: Onboard streamlines the scheduling, planning, and execution of board meetings. Features like calendar integration, RSVP tracking, and an agenda builder ensure a well-organized and efficient meeting process.
Compliance and Accountability: OnBoard also offers features that assist in maintaining compliance, with options for notes and annotations that are private or can be made available to all board members, fostering transparency and accountability. In addition, it keeps a detailed record of board activities facilitating auditing and overall governance.
Limited Customization - Unlike other board governance software, OnBoard is not as flexible when it comes to customization. Users may not be able to tailor it exactly to their needs or specific organisational structure.
Depth of Features - While OnBoard covers all the basics, it does not offer advanced features that other similar software provide such as deeper level of task management and meeting minutes automation.
Usability Issues - Some users have reported usability issues with OnBoard. The user interface may seem outdated compared to other, more modern platforms and it has a steeper learning curve especially for non-tech savvy individuals.
Device Compatibility - OnBoard does not consistently function optimally across all types of devices. While it may work well on desktop, it may have limited functionality or encounter bugs on mobile devices.
Customer Support - While they offer support, response times and effectiveness of problem resolution may not always meet users' expectations. Issues might sometimes take a longer-than-expected time to be resolved causing delays and inconvenience.
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Pick #3

Boardable

Boardable is a board governance software specifically designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of nonprofit boards. It offers tools and features such as board management, meeting scheduling, document review, electronic voting, and collaboration among board members. The platform provides a centralized place where groups can prepare for upcoming meetings, engage with board materials, review past meetings, and further organizational governance. It enhances communication, streamlines board activities, and promotes accountability and transparency, thereby enabling easy governance of a nonprofit board.

Improved Collaboration: Boardable allows members to work together in real-time, ensuring decisions and actions are made swiftly and without misunderstanding.
Centralized Document Storage: All board related documents are stored in a centralized, easy-to-navigate document center. This cuts down on the time spent searching for relevant information before, during, or after meetings.
Easy Meeting Management: It offers meeting management tools where users can schedule meetings, create and share agendas, and annotate documents collaboratively.
Smart Notifications: Boardable provides smart notifications and reminders that help board members to always stay updated about any changes in meeting dates, times, documents, or tasks.
Robust Board Assessment: It provides a platform for conducting board self-assessments. These features aid in analyzing board performance, identifying areas of improvement, and tracking the results over time.
Limited Customization Options - Unlike other board management software, Boardable doesn't offer much scope for customization. The platform's features and functionalities are largely preset, leaving little room for organizations to tailor the software to their unique needs.
Lack of advanced features - While Boardable covers the essentials, it might lack more sophisticated features available in other platform like real-time collaborative note-taking, advanced voting mechanisms, integration with wide range of third-party tools and more seamless integration with Microsoft Suite.
Insufficient Offline Capabilities - Boardable greatly depends on an internet connection to function optimally. For users that are often in places with limited or no internet connectivity, this dependency may pose serious limitations.
Not so User Friendly Interface - Some users may find Boardable's interface to be less intuitive and more complicated compared to other board governance software.
Limited Reporting and Analytic Tools - Boardable does not offer robust analytical and reporting capabilities that is needed for tracking progress over time and measuring key success metrics. Other software options may provide more extensive data analysis capabilities.
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Pick #4

Diligent Boards

Diligent Boards is a board governance software designed to streamline and simplify board administration processes. It centralizes all board materials and information into a single, secure platform that allows members to securely access and collaborate on documents from anywhere in the world. The application promotes efficient communication, informed decision-making, and effective governance by providing tools for scheduling, compiling board books, and conducting votes and signatures online. Furthermore, Diligent Boards ensures robust protection for sensitive information with its top-tier security features.

Seamless Communication and Collaboration: Diligent Boards fosters collaboration between board members regardless of their global location. They can collaborate on current and past board material anytime, anywhere, allowing for smoother decision-making processes.
Advanced version control: With Diligent Boards, outdated drafts, version confusions and corrections become issues of the past. The system ensures that everyone always works on the most current version of a document.
Easy Integration with existing ERP Systems: Diligent Boards is known for its ability to integrate seamlessly with existing Enterprise Resource Planning systems. This assures an uninterrupted flow of information and reduces the chances of data overlap or redundancy.
Real-time Updates and Notifications: The software offers a functionality where members can receive real-time updates and notifications regarding any changes in the board materials. This allows board members to stay up-to-date with the latest information, reducing the gap and miscommunications.
Enhanced Board Evaluations: Diligent Boards simplifies the complex process of board evaluations by enabling administrators to create, distribute and analyze evaluations all within the platform. This drastically reduces the time and effort required while increasing the accuracy of results.
Limited Cross-Platform Compatibility: Diligent Boards are heavily optimized for iOS devices, meaning the functionality and usability can be compromised on other operating systems such as Android or Windows.
Lack of Language Support: Currently, Diligent Boards does not have support for all international languages which restricts its potential for global usage and can be disadvantageous for multi-national companies.
No Offline Mode: Unlike some other board governance software, Diligent Boards lacks an offline mode, which means it requires a constant internet connection to function properly. This could be limiting for users who need to access board material in areas with poor or no internet connection.
Limited Integration with Other Tools: Diligent Boards has limited integrations with other productivity and collaboration tools, which can be challenging for organizations that use different systems and software in their operations.
Complexity in Use: Some users have reported that Diligent Boards' interface can be complex and confusing, especially for those who are not tech-savvy. This might require additional training or support, which can be a time-consuming task.
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Pick #5

Aprio

Aprio is a comprehensive board governance software designed to facilitate efficient and secure communication, collaboration, and meeting management for board directors, executives, and administrators. It provides an intuitive platform for scheduling, sharing documents, carrying out votes, and tracking tasks, ensuring transparency and accountability among board members. With its robust security system, Aprio safeguards sensitive data and ensures compliance with corporate governance standards. The software helps streamline workflows, improve decision-making, and elevate board performance, thereby promoting effective governance.

Streamlined Communication: Aprio Board Governance Software allows easy correspondence between board members, irrespective of their geographic locations. Its centralized platform reduces the potential for miscommunication, as meetings, agendas, minutes, and documents storage, all happen in one place.
Time Efficiency: With its user-friendly interface, Aprio greatly reduces the time spent on administrative tasks. It offers automated scheduling, agenda setting, and minute-taking features. This leads to efficient meeting management, allowing board members to focus more on strategic decision-making.
Secure Accessibility: Aprio offers anytime access, letting board members review board packs, past minutes and decisions, or financials at their convenience, resulting in better preparation for meetings. Despite the high accessibility, Aprio doesn’t compromise on the security of sensitive board information.
Repository for Corporate Knowledge: Aprio acts as a repository where all past board decisions and discussions are securely stored and easy to search. It keeps track of the board’s history, facilitating new member onboarding, and continuity in decision-making.
Enhanced Decision-Making: With Aprio, board members can access the entire agenda and meeting materials in advance. This allows them to better prepare for meetings, leading to more informed and well-thought-out decisions. Furthermore, built-in voting options can expedite decision-making processes.
Aprio's user interface can feel clunky and outdated. This could lead to difficulty in navigation and reduced user experience, especially for users who are not very tech-savvy.
The software does not support real-time collaboration. This means board members cannot work simultaneously on the same document or agenda, which could reduce team productivity and cause delays.
Aprio lacks an onboard annotation tool for reviewing documents. This feature is critical for board members to highlight important pieces of information during their review, thus its absence could prolong the process and increase the likelihood of errors.
The software does not offer a built-in voting module. This means organizations would need another solution for board voting, which could bring about additional costs and complexity.
Aprio has limited customization options. This lack of flexibility may not cater to the unique needs and preferences of some organizations, thereby disabling them to tailor the software exactly to their requirements.
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Pick #6

Governance Cloud by Diligent

Governance Cloud by Diligent is a comprehensive board management software platform that streamlines the governance process by offering a host of distinctive tools and features. The software facilitates hassle-free communication among board members, allows document sharing in a secure environment, arranges virtual board meetings, and ensures regulatory compliance. Furthermore, it adopts security best practices for providing robust data protection. Thanks to its analytics feature, board members can get critical insights and make well-informed decisions. The digitized portal makes it immensely user-friendly, allowing members to access it anywhere, anytime. It’s a complete package designed to increase efficiency, collaboration, and effectiveness among board members.

Integrated Board Management: Governance Cloud by Diligent offers a comprehensive suite of tools that enable seamless board management. It provides users with an all-in-one platform for meetings, collaboration, governance, and more thus increasing efficiency.
Intuitive User Interface: The software is designed with a user-friendly interface that allows board directors ease of access to meeting materials, archives, and corporate records. It enhances director productivity by reducing the time taken to understand and navigate the system.
Robust Capabilities for Online Collaboration: Governance Cloud provides real-time secure collaboration tools for board members. It enables board directors to work on the same document concurrently, make annotations, share thoughts and respond to comments thus facilitating effective governance.
Customizable and Scalable Solution: The software is highly adaptive and can be customized to fit the specific needs of any organization. Additionally, it can seamlessly scale up as the organization's board governance demand grows.
Comprehensive Board Evaluations: Diligent's Governance Cloud has an advanced feature for conducting in-depth board self-assessments and evaluations. This feature aids in maintaining excellent governance standards by allowing you to easily assess and gain insights into the board performance.
Learning Curve - While Governance Cloud by Diligent is designed to be user-friendly, like any new technology, it can be challenging for some users to quickly understand and use effectively. This can lead to slower adoption by board members who are not technologically inclined.
Customization Limitations - Governance Cloud by Diligent offers limited customization options. While it provides a good range of tools and features, ensuring it meets the unique requirements of each board can be a challenge.
Limited Integration Capabilities - Governance Cloud by Diligent does not appear to have expansive integration capabilities with other software or applications like project management systems or external file storage services.
Dependency on Internet Connectivity - As a cloud-based software, it requires continuous and good quality internet access to function optimally. Any interruptions or slowdowns in internet connectivity can significantly impact its performance.
Deficient Offline Capabilities - Although the Governance Cloud allows for some offline work, it does not provide complete functionality when in offline mode. This may not be ideal for board members who do not have constant internet access.
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Pick #7

BoardPAC

BoardPAC is a highly secure and globally recognized board governance software designed to manage all aspects of board, committee meetings, and day to day board communications. This innovative software offers features such as pre-meeting and post-meeting management, digital note-taking, easy document distribution, real-time reporting, strategic planning and much more. It helps organizations achieve better governance by enabling seamless coordination within the board, enhancing decision making, paperless environment, safeguarding sensitive data and also adhering to the corporate compliance and regulations. It is highly recommended for organizations seeking to streamline their board management processes and enhance governance.

Real-Time Collaboration and Communication: BoardPAC enables board members to discuss matters in real-time through its platform. They can collaborate, annotate, and share their opinions immediately without the need for physical meetings, saving ample time.
Comprehensive Functionality: BoardPAC provides the option of integrating with other corporate systems and applications. It's not just limited to board meetings, but also supports the management of subcommittees, AGMs, and EGMs, making it a comprehensive Board Governance Software.
Seamless Paperless Solution: It allows board members to access the updated meeting packs and materials digitally, limiting the production and distribution of physical copies. This aspect is substantial in building environmental-friendly and efficient businesses.
Secure Voting and Resolution Approval: BoardPAC allows board members to cast their votes or approve resolutions securely within the platform. This process can correctly record members' decision-making, ensure accuracy, and enhance the transparency and efficiency of board management.
Personalised User Access and Viewing Preferences: The software allows customised user profiles, where users can view their relevant documentations and edit their personal reading preferences. This helps in making the whole process of document analysis more comfortable and more tailored to each user's needs.
The user interface of BoardPAC, although user-friendly for the most part, can be slightly confusing for first-time users. Navigating through the system may initially require some assistance and training.
BoardPAC does not support real-time collaboration. This could make things difficult during a live board meeting where members wish to update or share data simultaneously.
BoardPAC's digital note-taking feature, while useful, lacks advanced markup options, such as different colors or note linking. This could limit a user's note-taking capabilities and in turn, the ease of reference during meetings.
The software does not offer a search functionality across different meetings and agenda items in the centralized database. This could potentially make the information retrieval process more time-consuming.
BoardPAC's availability on multiple platforms could be improved. As of now, it has limited compatibility with different operating systems. Hence, users who do not use the supported platforms might not be able to access the software effectively.

Pick #8

eBOARDsolutions Simbli

eBOARDsolutions Simbli is a comprehensive board governance software designed to streamline the management of board meetings, policies, strategic plans, evaluations, and communications. Developed for boards and leadership teams, Simbli provides a centralized digital platform with user-friendly tools for effective workflow management. It facilitates collaboration, document sharing, meeting organization and agenda creation, enhancing transparency, and efficiency in the governance process. Additionally, its robust reporting capabilities support accountability and informed decision-making, upholding best practices in governance.

Streamlined Information Management: Simbli's Board Governance Software centralizes all board information and resources into a singular online platform, facilitating access to and organization of important documents, board notifications, and more.
Enhanced Communication: Simbli provides comprehensive tools for communication among board members, including meeting management tools and online discussion forums, fostering transparency and collaboration.
Efficient Onboarding and Training: With Simbli's built-in resources and intuitive platform, the onboarding process for new board members is streamlined and efficient, reducing the time required to bring them up to speed.
Comprehensive Policy Management: Simbli offers advanced policy management features that make it effortless for governing bodies to create, review, revise, and disseminate policies, ensuring transparency and efficiency in the policy-making process.
Customizable Modules: Simbli allows the customization of various modules to fit specific board needs, including meetings, planning, evaluation, policies and board docs modules, thus providing flexibility and adaptability.
Limited Customization Options - eBOARDsolutions Simbli has a set structure and limited customization options. While this standardization helps in many ways, it may become a hindrance for some boards that have very specific needs or want to adapt the software in a unique way to fit their procedures and structures. Steep Learning Curve - Many users have reported that the interface of eBOARDsolutions Simbli is not as intuitive as some other board governance software. This could lead to a slower adoption rate and requires extra training time. Might have less Integration Compatibility - Simbli might not integrate well with all types of electronic devices and other software. It may not be fully compatible with certain operating systems or databases, leading to functionality glitches. Limited Language Support - Simbli is primarily available in English which may create problems for non-english speaking boards or organizations that function in multiple languages. Need for Continuous Internet connection - As Simbli is a web-based solution, continuous Internet connection is required to access and use its features. If your Internet connection is unstable or unavailable, it can interrupt board decision-making processes and meetings.
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Pick #9

BoardPro

BoardPro is a sophisticated board governance software designed to streamline and enhance the efficiency of board meetings and corporate governance processes. It offers a comprehensive, centralized platform where agendas can be set, documents can be shared, minutes can be noted, and due dates can be tracked. BoardPro not only aids in lowering the administrative burden but also drives compliance and enhances the overall functionality and productivity of a board meeting. This cloud-based solution provides robust security, ensuring confidential board information is securely stored and accessible only to authorized personnel.

Efficient Board Meeting Management - BoardPro provides a systematic workflow for arranging and managing board meetings. It includes scheduling, creating agendas, attaching documentation, and tracking attendance, making the entire meeting process more efficient.
Integrated Action and Decision Tracking - With BoardPro, decisions made in meetings can be easily tracked and monitored. The software allows users to assign tasks, set reminders and follow-ups, ensuring ongoing accountability for board decisions.
Centralized Document Management - BoardPro has an integrated document management system, enabling secure storage and easy access to all board-related documents. Documents are organized in a systematic manner so they can be retrieved with ease when needed.
Comprehensive Reporting and Insights - BoardPro includes reporting features allowing for comprehensive analysis of board activities. This can include attendance tracking, decision-making efficiency, task completion, and more, which are crucial for improving board performance and effectiveness.
Governance Best Practices - BoardPro promotes adherence to governance best practices, providing guidance on meeting structures, information sharing and reporting systems. This helps organizations ensure they are operating in line with regulations, leading to stronger governance.
Limited Customization - BoardPro offers a fairly limited set of customization options. You cannot fully tailor the software to your organization's specific needs, which may mean you have to adjust your operations to fit into the system, rather than the other way around.
Steep Learning Curve - While BoardPro has a simple and intuitive interface in general, users might experience a steep learning curve while understanding its features. A lack of extensive tutorials and guides exacerbates this issue.
Limited Integration - BoardPro only provides limited integration with other software, making it less convenient for organizations that utilize multiple platforms for managing different areas of their operations.
Absence of Audience Interaction Tools - BoardPro lacks dedicated functionality for audience interaction such as polling or Q&A features during meetings, which can limit engagement during virtual board meetings.
Inefficient Document Management - While BoardPro does offer some document management features, they are quite rudimentary. It does not provide robust tools for organizing, categorizing, or searching through documents efficiently.
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Pick #10

Sherpany

Sherpany is a Board Governance Software that streamlines and enhances the efficiency of board and executive committee meeting processes. It allows the digitization of meeting management, from preparation to execution, and offers a secure and organized platform to share confidential information. This Swiss-based software offers features such as easy document accessibility, real-time synchronization, and meeting scheduling. It assists its users through easy annotation and collaboration tools, enables effective decision-making, and ensures compliance and accountability among board members.

Enhanced Collaboration - Sherpany allows all board members to work on the same documents at the same time. They can add new items, suggest edits and comment on existing content, making the collaboration seamless and efficient.
Streamlined Meeting Management - Sherpany provides comprehensive tools for managing meetings, from the initial stage of agenda setting to final minutes approval. The software also allows digital signatures to finalize minutes, reducing paperwork and simplifying the review process.
Real-time Updates - Sherpany offers real-time update and synchronization, ensuring that every participant always has the most recent version of documents, regardless of their location.
Enhanced Accessibility - Sherpany's mobile app allows board members to access their board materials anywhere and at any time. This ensures that busy board members are able to stay up-to-date and fully engaged with board activities.
Environmental Responsibility - By reducing the need for physical documents, Sherpany contributes to more environmentally friendly board practices. This digitalization of board materials reduces paper waste and encourages a more sustainable approach to board governance.
Proprietary System; Sherpany is a proprietary system, it may not integrate smoothly with widely used third-party apps and software for note-taking, project management or others that a board may want to use in governance tasks.
Limited Customizability; Sherpany comes with preset modules and features that may not suit the unique governance needs of every organization. Adaptations and customizability may be limited.
Steep Learning Curve; Sherpany's platform has a steep learning curve because of its large array of features. Non-tech-savvy board members may face challenges while using the software. Time that could be spent on governance tasks could be spent on training.
Dependence on Internet Connectivity; Like many digital tools, Sherpany is cloud-based, which means its functionality can be hindered by poor or unreliable internet connections.
Limited Offline Functionality; While Sherpany does offer an offline mode for use, it may not allow full access to all features and documents. This can be a significant limitation in situations where internet access is not available or limited.
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FAQs

What is Board Governance Software?

Board Governance Software is a platform that provides boards of directors with the tools necessary to streamline and manage their communication, collaboration, meeting activities, and related tasks in a secure environment. It aids with administration, decision-making tools, document storage, and more.

What are the key features of Board Governance Software?

Key features of Board Governance Software often include secure document storage and distribution, meeting management tools like agendas and minutes, member directories, voting and decision tracking, task assignments, calendars, and a platform for secure communication.

Can the Board Governance Software improve the efficiency of board meetings?

Yes, Board Governance Software can significantly improve the efficiency of board meetings. It helps in organizing and storing important documents, streamlines communication, simplifies scheduling, allows real-time collaboration, and even makes it possible to conduct virtual meetings.

How secure is Board Governance Software?

Reputable Board Governance Software platforms prioritize security to ensure that sensitive board information is protected. They often provide features like two-factor authentication, encryption, audit logs, and permission-based access, among others, which keep data safe from unauthorized access.

Can Board Governance Software support remote or virtual board meetings?

Yes, many Board Governance Software platforms are designed to accommodate remote or virtual meetings. They often offer tools for video conferencing, shared screens, collaborative note-taking, and secure voting, all of which can facilitate effective remote board meetings.

Overview