Storing and processing tons of data has become an integral aspect of running a business in today’s world. You likely have various systems in place to collect and analyze data from different channels. Round-the-clock data analysis helps you improve your products/services and build lasting customer relationships.
But customer behavior and sales figures aren’t the only types of data that your business needs. If you’re running a company, you need a well-defined system to organize corporate data and important business documents.
In other words, you need to use a feature-packed entity management system to securely store and share confidential business data. It includes information about your company’s legal status, ownership structure, board of directors, shareholders and partnerships.
Similarly, entity management software can help organize business documents, such as contracts, tax summaries, invoices, licenses, etc. It facilitates secure storage and sharing of these files without the need for physically exchanging any documents.
It’s particularly useful for due diligence during mergers and acquisitions, loan approvals, and other corporate transactions.
The only slight catch is that the market is flooded with a broad spectrum of legal entity management platforms. Whether you run a bootstrapped startup or a large organization, you can choose from a wide array of entity management systems.
How do you understand which software is the right choice for your business?
In this article, we’ll discuss a few important factors you need to keep in mind when evaluating different entity management systems. Let’s get started.
1. Implementation
Modern entity management systems come with a plethora of advanced features. Whether you want to set automatic reminders for license renewal or generate reports for the legal and compliance teams, you can accomplish everything using corporate entity management software.
But that doesn’t mean all entity management systems are a good match for your organization. You need to find a solution that’ll seamlessly integrate with any applications you’re already using to store entity data and documents. Otherwise, deploying and configuring a new entity management system will prove to be expensive and cumbersome.
Start by delving deeper into the data migration process. Can you easily transfer entity data from old servers and other applications to the new system? How much time will it take for the migration to complete? What kind of hardware configuration will you need?
Make sure you know the answers to all these questions before investing in legal entity management software. Check whether it supports integration with other tools, such as Virtual Data Rooms (VDRs), that you might need for due diligence.
2. Learning Curve
An entity management system is only as good as the people who’re using it. Even the best entity management software will fail to yield the desired results if the legal and compliance teams don’t know how to utilize its features.
That’s why you need to ensure that the selected corporate entity management system is user-friendly. Check with the software provider about the possibility of a free demo. Let employees from concerned departments participate in the demo and ask questions about the software’s usability.
Find out what kind of training the vendor provides for new users. Also, it’s a good idea to check whether the software is browser-based. Otherwise, employees and external stakeholders will need to log into specific devices to access entity data. That would be a significant limitation for today’s distributed workforce.
3. Security
The recent surge in cyberattacks on organizations has been an undesired outcome of the digital transformation of businesses. If bad actors gain access to corporate records, it could be catastrophic for your business.
The good news is that new-age entity management systems come with a diverse array of robust security features. Before you purchase entity management software, ask the vendor about the type of security enhancements they offer.
Standard security features include data encryption, two-factor authentication, and single sign-on. Some software providers also offer additional features, such as role-based access, to help you monitor and control who can view what data.
Similarly, certain entity management systems also log user activity and time stamps. It helps you identify any mishandling or tampering of entity data.
4. Scalability
Different platforms have different pricing structures and capability ceilings. What might work well for your needs today isn’t necessarily what will serve you best in the long haul.
You want to choose a corporate management system that can accommodate the growing needs of your business. Find out whether it has any provision to add new users in the future.
Also, check how the costs will escalate as you add more users. Make sure the software is equipped to adapt to new technologies and security tools.
Closing Thoughts
Entity management software can help mitigate several risks associated with corporate data. It ensures proper compliance and due diligence. Also, it protects entity data and confidential documents from cyberattacks. Find a scalable and easy-to-use platform that comes with sophisticated security features.
