In this piece from HBR Consulting, law firms are craving contract lifecycle management (CLM) solutions. Get ready to rumble! “If your organization is looking to add a CLM solution, consider this number: 32,700,000,” says Chris Dodd, an HBR senior director in the Legal Technology practice and a leading CLM expert. “That is the number of hits for the search term ‘contract lifecycle management software’ on Google.” Ouch! It would take years to sort that out. But Chris has a framework that may help. First, know your requirements. How complex are your needs? Do you need a CLM solution at all? Second, know thy vendor. “While CLM solution providers can tend to all blur together, it is critical to seek out key differentiators that will ensure you are indeed making an informed choice,” Chris says. Third, know the product. Your requirements will dictate the features you need, but you have to look under the hood of the software. Finally, know the costs, which typically fall into three categories: implementation, transactional, and intrinsic. “At the end of the day,” Chris concludes, “finding the right CLM solution that satisfies your needs and expectations should help accelerate your contract cycles, address gaps in your existing contracting processes, reduce risk, and ultimately recoup lost time and revenue.” Learn more at HBR’s blog.
Published May 12, 2021.
