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A year-and-a-half after its introduction, the iPad has made the paperless boardroom a reality. With its unique strength in graphics it is well-suited to present large volumes of information in an intuitive manner. As a device, it is so straightforward that it can serve as a common platform for the board. So unlike its browser predecessor, the iPad produces an inclusive experience for all directors—progressive and traditional alike.
Today directors rely on their iPad to access board materials in-meetings and in-between meetings. Not unreasonably, they require access to their content even if they are out of Wifi range. This is a common scenario when board members are prepping for a meeting while in transit, perhaps reviewing materials or making annotations in-flight on the way to a meeting. To address this need, BoardVantage offers the briefcase, an offline repository for downloading meeting material. The Briefcase syncs with the server so that any annotations made offline are immediately available online. Also, annotations made while offline, are carried forward on the latest version of the boardbook, even if the boardbook was updated while the director was in offline mode. To make sure that directors always have the latest information at their fingertips, sync technology lets the Corporate Secretary push any new material directly to the director's Briefcase. All of this is accomplished in a seamless manner to make for a hassle-free director experience.
But along with these advantages, the iPad has created new security risks, particularly discoverability. To address these concerns, all content downloaded remains under the central control of the administrator so that documents and annotations can be purged remotely. And in case notes have not been deleted by individual directors, expiration is automatic after 21 days. The briefcase is encrypted and password protected to protect its content if the device is lost or stolen. In that event all content can then be purged centrally by the administrator.
With the briefcase, BoardVantage extends the security of its board portal onto the iPad.
Whether in annotations, the timeline, discussions or any other functionality, BoardVantage has invested in deep integration between the iPad frontend and the server backend to create a richer and more interactive director experience. This deep iOS integration opens up a wider range of access to board content. Now, it's no longer just about the current meeting; directors also get a bird's eye view of all previous meetings in animation, so that dense board information is presented with unprecedented efficiency. This means that directors now have information at their fingertips that was previously unavailable, along with access that is more efficient than before. The result is a director experience that is not only better than the browser, it is also better than print.
Technology Evolution in the Boardroom
BoardVantage Syncing Briefcase
