What is Enterprise Governance Management

If the term Enterprise Governance Management (EGM) sounds unfamiliar, it should. It's a new term that Diligent is introducing into the market. In the Governance, Risk and Compliance market, there are plenty of point solutions for Risk and Compliance, but there is a lack of attention paid to Governance solutions. Governance is the practice of raising the right information to the right leaders, board and stakeholders so they can ask the right questions and steer organizations.

Enterprise Governance Management (EGM) is the discipline of applying technical tools and resources to the full range of governance needs to govern at the highest level and deliver long-term success and sustainability.

Why Create a New Category of Governance Solutions?

'Governance, in its essence, is leaders using the right information and controls to direct an organization, which can be facilitated by technology,' says Brian Stafford, Chief Executive Officer of Diligent. 'Governance solutions allow board directors to consolidate information, so they can ask better questions, make better decisions and better shape the future of the organizations they serve.'

At Diligent, we recognize that our product offerings fall into the greater Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) category. Today, this category has a host of integrated solutions that address risk and compliance, but few that focus on governance. Where offerings do exist, they are not developed for the full spectrum of governance roles and responsibilities.

Diligent is the only provider of a comprehensive governance management solution.

The simple answer to the question of why we created a new category of governance solutions is that no one else was doing what we were doing. CEO Brian Stafford explains it this way, 'The best way for us to share our vision for Enterprise Governance Management was to give boards the products they needed and demonstrate how we could shape solutions to their needs over time.'

Diligent Led the Way in Board Governance Solutions

From our foundational roots in 2001, Diligent made it a mission to listen to our clients and respond to them with practical solutions. Our original mission positioned us well ahead of our competitors in the board portal space. Our vision has stayed steadfast as we push forward to provide the best possible technology for leadership teams globally.

When our clients told us that they needed more than a board portal, we met their needs head on. They wanted even more digital tools'ones that could perform specific functions to make governance responsibilities easier and more efficient. Once again, Diligent didn't disappoint. We knew that if a significant number of our clients were asking for the same tools, there were many more out that there that needed them too.

Diligent Is the Top Leader in the Governance Industry

Diligent currently employs over 600 employees with about 100 employees dedicated to product development. Research and development is a top priority at Diligent, where we've increased our investment by more than 150% on product development. In fact, we have continually increased our annual investment in research and development, which is unsurpassed by any competitor.

Over 400,000 board directors and executives working in over 12,000 organizations use Diligent's products. Diligent serves boards in more than 90 countries. To put it in greater perspective, Diligent serves about 50% of Fortune 1000 companies, about 70% of FTSE 100 companies and about 65% of the ASX companies.

What is the Governance Cloud?

Board directors are obligated to perform a host of varied duties and responsibilities. Diligent developed a suite of governance tools to help them fulfill their responsibilities accurately and efficiently. The Governance Cloud ecosystem of products includes:

• Diligent Boards
• Director and officer questionnaires (pre-filled forms)
• Board evaluations
• Resolutions and voting
• Diligent Messenger
• Diligent Minutes
• Insights (curated content and videos) (beta)
• Entity Management
  
  

As board directors, leadership teams and general counsels continue to express their needs to digitize governance processes, Diligent will be the partner to grow with them. Collectively, these tools enable corporations to achieve a fully digitized and integrated governance ecosystem to mitigate risk, plan for strategic growth and ultimately, govern at the highest level.

We feel that we are merely at the tip of the iceberg of what the future holds in governance solutions.

Diligent Looks Towards the Future of Governance Solutions

When looking to the future of Diligent, Stafford says, 'In the future, you can expect to see vastly continued investment in product, additional new features for our clients, and new solutions built onto existing solutions. We aim to keep raising the stakes in terms of what it takes to continue to build solutions around the needs of board directors.'

Diligent entered the governance space well ahead of the competition, and our future couldn't be stronger. We will continue our process of integrating and digitizing governance solutions to add to our current suite of products. Board members across the globe can expect us to meet their needs. We look forward to continue investing in research and development to keep pace with the evolving needs of board directors.

Enterprise Governance Management (EGM) characterizes where we are today and where we will continue to innovate for the future vision of Diligent Corporation.