Board Portals: No Assembly Required

Say "Goodbye" to traditional board meetings and say "Hello" to board portals. Over the last few years, so-called "board portals" have been taking over the board process, moving briefing books online. Similar to other information portals (like Yahoo!), board portals put vital board meeting information in one central location, thus allowing busy executives and board members to quickly and easily access the information they need to make decisions. Before board portals, executives had to lug their laptops and stacks of printed hard copy materials to board meetings. According to James Long, vice chairman of Wackenhut Services, board portals prevent directors at board meetings from being weighed down by an abundance of paper materials. By putting these board materials in a portal, businesses can benefit in a multitude of ways. Board portals can:

• improve communication among board members
• reduce travel requirements
• eliminate mailing and delivery hassles
• reduce paper waste and the cost of office supplies
• safeguard the privacy of board materials
• save time and effort

The BusinessWeek article "Board Portals: No Assembly Required" discusses the increasing adoption of board portals and evaluates a few of today's most popular portal packages available for companies. Ranging in price from an average of $25,000-$40,000, portal packages provide all the aforementioned advantages, as well as 24/7 support and on-site training.

If your firm is interested in adopting this new service, here is a list of the portal providers described in the BusinessWeek article:

• Directors Desk by Nasdaq
• BoardBooks by Diligent
• BoardLink by Thomson
• BoardVantage
• Leaders4 Board Information Management by 80-20

As a business professional, wouldn't you love to have critical information at your fingertips without having to shuffle through tons of papers?

Or do you think there are drawbacks to moving the board process to a more virtual, paperless environment?

Does IT Matter?

Walk into practically any business, and you will find some form of information technology (IT) hard at work. In recent years, new technologies have radically changed and improved the business world. With the emergence of the Internet, businesses and consumers from all over the globe can interact in a virtually borderless economy. Information technologies have forever altered the way people conduct business and live their daily lives. For example, consider my recent trip to New York City. Before departing, I went on the Internet, booked my airplane flights, purchased sightseeing tickets, and downloaded city maps. At the airport, I swiped my credit card at a computer kiosk to check in, print my boarding pass, and check my baggage. In all of these instances, the use of innovative information systems made my travel easier and more efficient. Isn't that the ultimate goal of information technologies? To enhance customer satisfaction and improve business practices?

IT MATTERS

Hoping to achieve such aims, businesses invest heavily in information technologies. The Internet and integrated software systems offer many benefits for businesses. IT provides enhanced connectivity, making communication among various parties quicker, easier, and more accurate. IT increases efficiency, lowers costs, reduces waste, and removes physical limitations. With today's information technologies, an American consumer can purchase goods directly from a Taiwanese manufacturer and have the item shipped to his home without leaving the comforts of his recliner. A businessman in New York can discuss a potential merger with a businesswoman in Berlin. Improving information exchange allows business to run more smoothly, which makes consumers happy, which then increases business. Therefore, designing and implementing the right combination of information technologies has the potential power to significantly add to a business' bottom line.

IT DOESN'T MATTER

However, the increasing ubiquity and decreasing cost of the Internet and other information technologies have many business managers questioning whether hefty IT investments really pay off. Does IT really matter in business? Can IT truly create a competitve advantage in today's global economy? In his Harvard Business Review article "IT Doesn't Matter," Nicholas Carr answers "No" to these questions, claiming that IT has now become a commodity. Many other business professionals are also beginning to side with Carr's belief, noting several drawbacks to IT. Although monetary cost is becoming less of an issue, other costs are associated with designing and implementing advanced information systems and technologies. Large scale IT systems often require equally substantial funds to establish and maintain them. Time is required to create customized information technologies and then train employees how to use new systems. Given its very nature, information technology also creates ethical concerns regarding security/privacy, outsourcing, e-waste disposal, and mechanization.

Although business experts may disagree about the commoditization of IT, the prevalence and importance of information technology cannot be denied. Considering the aforementioned advantages and disadvantages, how should IT be viewed by today's business leaders?

Can IT create a competitive advantage in the market?

Do you think IT matters?