Travel Concerns Push Board Meetings Into Cyberspace - Business - Brief Article

Information Superhighways Newsletter, Oct, 2001

The September 11 World Trade Center attacks and their aftermath are triggering changes in how the top executives of world corporations meet. New travel reluctance and security concerns, combined with the general economic slowdown, has sped corporate efforts to keep key talent from convening in vulnerable locations, as well as avoiding unnecessary air travel.

One corporate collective, however, has lagged in following the trend - the corporations' Boards of Directors. Despite new technology and newer safety concerns, most boards still convene every two to three months around a handsome oak table, just as they have for decades. But the risks and inconvenience of gathering this group of vital corporate best and brightest (who are often CEOs of their own corporations) is finally prompting the board meeting to move into the 21st Century. According to Dr. A. K. Pradeep, CEO of Board Vantage, Inc., "Boards are one of the last areas of the corporation to move into online technology, but they're making up for lost time quickly."

BoardVantage, based in Berkeley, California, offers a suite of technology-based high-security corporate governance services, including board document management, virtual board conferencing and communication, and board practice tools.

"Boards were already straining to meet new oversight demands with less time, but the new concerns over security and travel leave companies no choice but to put governance online," observes Dr. Pradeep. "Although concerns about bringing the top of the corporate pyramid together in one building at one time is prompting the move to online governance, directors and companies rapidly find that technology such as that offered by BoardVantage also makes governance far more efficient."

"Directors are proving highly apt in dealing with online board meetings, messaging and materials review. We designed Board Vantage to make it very easy and intuitive to use - directors just can't put the time and hassle into dealing with new technology. The software involved is very powerful, and extreme measures are taken to ensure the tightest security, but the user interface remains simple and practical."