What is government board software?
A board management portal for the government offers a secure workspace for managing confidential information, communicating, running meetings, and collaborating. It empowers board members of local, state, and federal governments to run more efficient board meeting processes:
- Automate board tasks and board packet management
- Sign documents digitally
- Vote electronically
- Automatically compile online board books
- Automatically record meeting minutes
- Run hybrid and virtual board meetings using video conferencing tools
- Instantly retrieve information and streamline public records management
| What is board portal, and which features does it offer? Check this out in our dedicated board portal guide. |
Why do government agencies need government board meeting software?
According to Gartner, 50% of government agencies will shift from legacy systems to modern cloud solutions by 2025. This means more agencies have begun recognizing the benefits of public sector governance tools. These advantages, however, stretch beyond seamless task management, bulk user management, and real-time communication.
Like board portals for banks, public sector board management tools enable disaster recovery technology, storage scalability, and round-the-clock uptime for the utmost security and resilience.
Comparing the top three board portals in key government areas
iDeals Board, Diligent, and OnBoard are leading solutions for the public sector. Let’s compare these board portals against the most critical criteria for government agencies:
- Compliance with government regulations
- Data security
- Government transparency and public access
- FOIA compliance
- Integration with government systems
Compliance with government regulations
iDeals Board is compliance-focused board management software that meets the strictest standards for government use — FedRAMP, FISMA, and DIACAP.
Diligent meets TX-RAMP, ensuring compliant digital workflows for Texas authorities; however, it doesn’t offer broader compliance certifications. OnBoard offers neither state nor federal certifications.
Data security
iDeals Board, Diligent, and OnBoard meet common cybersecurity standards for government software, such as ISO 27001, ISO 27017, and ISO 27018, and are SOC-certified. While these platforms are certified similarly, iDeals Board stores user data sets in isolated environments rather than a central database.
This feature reduces the risks of unauthorized access. Additionally, iDeals’ government management software purposely avoids Office 365 integration. This policy excludes the risk of critical documents leaking through breaches in content integrations, like Office 365.
Government transparency and public access
iDeals Board balances security and public transparency by implementing specialized secure sharing links with view-only permissions for meeting materials.
Diligent, on the other hand, supports customizable public portals where community representatives and other board members can view meeting agendas and minutes.
As for OnBoard, it simplifies public access with special Public Meeting URLs, allowing anyone with the link to browse the contents of board documents and virtual meetings.
FOIA compliance
iDeals Board simplifies record-keeping and government compliance (e.g., FOIA, Sunshine Laws) with unlimited document versioning, global workspace search, and system-wide notifications. Diligent and OnBoard support comparable features, including full-text search for easy content navigation.
Integration with government systems
Diligent and OnBoard can connect with legacy systems through application programming interfaces (APIs). That requires significant development effort, though. iDeals Board, on the other hand, offers seamless migration from legacy systems, eliminating the need for custom-built integrations.
Comparing the top five board portals for government
Let’s compare the features, quality of user experience, security options, and customer support of iDeals Board, Diligent, OnBoard, Board Effect, and Azeus Convene.
iDeals Board
iDeals Board is software for governments that empowers over one million users across 175,000 organizations. iDeals Board offers powerful board meeting management and compliance capabilities at all levels of government. This vendor has decades of experience in virtual data room services, offering unmatched security solutions for government agencies.
Features
- Unlimited document storage
- Cross-device real-time voting
- Integrated electronic signature
- Digital agenda management system
- Auto-generated meeting minutes
- Auto-compiled board books
User experience
- Global search across the entire platform
- Activity and progress tracking dashboards
- Dedicated secretary and user dashboards
- Pre-built meeting agenda templates
- Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook Integration
- Zoom and Microsoft Teams integration
Security and compliance
- AES 256-bit encryption
- Multi-factor authentication
- Granular access permissions
- ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, ISO 9001, SOC 1, SOC 2, SOC 3, PCI DSS Level 1, FedRAMP, FISMA, DIACAP, GDPR, HIPAA
Customer support
- 24/7 live chat support
- 24/7 email support
- AI support
- Help Center
- Live training
- Dedicated customer success manager
Diligent
Diligent Boards is a board management software for corporations, nonprofits, and agencies. Diligent caters to larger organizations, serving over 1 million users across 25,000 institutions. Diligent offers comprehensive board evaluation tools and balanced capabilities for organizing board meetings.
Features
- Integrated AI assistant
- D&O questionnaires
- Market intelligence and reputation monitoring
- Proxy advisory service
- Nominations and board health checking
- Executive compensation benchmarking
User experience
- Full-text search
- Board reporting dashboards
- Office 365 integration
- Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Webex integration
Security and compliance
- AES 256-bit encryption
- Two-factor authentication
- Granular access permissions
- ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, SOC 1, SOC 2 Type 2, CCPA, GDPR, HIPAA, TX-RAMP, IRAP
Customer support
- 24/7 live chat support
- Phone support
- Email support
- Help Center
- Live training
- Dedicated customer success manager
OnBoard
OnBoard is board management software for crown corporations, public administration, nonprofits, and corporations. OnBoard servers over 100,000 users across over 3,300 organizations, offering strong capabilities for board assessments and meeting management.
Features
- Tailored board surveys
- D&O questionnaires
- Board engagement analytics
User experience
- Full-text search
- Presenter mode
- Office 365 integration
- Zoom and Microsoft Teams integration
Security and compliance
- AES 256-bit encryption
- Two-factor authentication
- Granular access permissions
- ISO 27001, ISO 27701, EU-US Privacy Shield, CSA STAR – Level 1, GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2 Type II
Customer support
- Email support
- Help Center
- Dedicated customer success manager
BoardEffect
BoardEffect is the board management software for nonprofits, associations, and foundations that serves over 200,000 users in 14,000 institutions. BoardEffect isn’t a dedicated solution for the public sector, but its committee management capabilities satisfy many needs shared by nonprofit organizations and authorities.
Features
- Committee workrooms
- Auto-compiled board books
- Tailored board surveys
- Board book archives
User experience
- Full-text search
- Office 365 integration
- Zoom and GoTo Meeting integration
Security and compliance
- AES 256-bit encryption
- Two-factor authentication
- Granular access permissions
- ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, SOC 1 Type 2, SOC 2 Type 2, HIPAA, HITECH
Customer support
- Live chat support
- Email support
- Phone support during business hours
Azeus Convene
Azeus Convene is board portal software for credit unions that also offers powerful tools for local and state governments. Convene board meeting solution fuels over 100,000 board meetings, offering superb video conferencing capabilities.
Features
- Auto-downloaded board books
- Proprietary video conferencing platform
- Visual laser pointer
User experience
- Automatic video recordings
- Automatic audio transcripts
- Synchronized page viewing mode
Security and compliance
- AES 256-bit encryption
- Two-factor authentication
- Granular access permissions
- ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, CMMI Level 5, IRAP, HIPAA
Customer support
- 24/7 live chat support
- Email support
- Phone support
How to choose the best board portal for government
Let’s discuss the best practices for choosing a board portal for the government agency:
- Consider a tailored solution
- Review pricing options
- Use a board portal evaluation checklist
- Leverage a free demo and a free trial
Consider a tailored solution
Evaluate government board governance software against specific requirements of your organization, such as the following:
- Security. ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, ISO 9001, SOC 1, SOC 2, and SOC 3 certifications ensure strong data protection.
- Government-specific compliance. FedRAMP, TX-RAMP, FISMA, and DIACAP certifications ensure compliant board governance and information management.
- Collaboration. Emphasize built-in board governance signature software, agenda builders, system-wide search, and video conferencing integrations. Avoid content integrations for greater protection.
Review pricing options
Consider tiered subscriptions catering to small, mid-sized, and large organizations. It will help you smoothly scale operations if necessary while paying only for the features you currently need.
Use a board portal evaluation checklist
For balanced evaluations, review board portals against the following criteria:
- Data security compliance
- Governance compliance
- Collaboration features
- Security features
- Customer support
- Pricing options
- Customer feedback
- Reputation
- Data breach history
Leverage a free demo and a free trial
Scheduling a free demo will help you understand which capabilities of the board portal your agency truly needs. In turn, subscribing to a free trial will help you evaluate the quality of the offered features first-hand. Also, consider preparing the following questions during a free demo:
- What options are available for customer onboarding and training?
- Do you have dedicated project and customer success managers?
- What is your disaster recovery plan?
- What is your uptime level?
- What are your storage capacity and board member count limits?
- What are your system requirements?
- Can you integrate your board portal with our legacy systems?
- How do we migrate to your board portal?
FAQ
What is board governance software?
Board governance software is a digital workspace where board directors collaborate, organize meetings, manage board agendas, and store documents.
How secure is board agenda management software for the government?
Secure board management software for the government meets ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, ISO 9001, SOC 1, SOC 2, SOC 3, and other data security standards.
Which compliance certificates must board software for the government have?
To comply with data management standards for governments, board software must meet FedRAMP, FISMA, and DIACAP requirements.