From scalability to security: Navigating CLM technical requirements 

Choosing a new Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) platform can sometimes feel like navigating a maze of technical jargon and endless options. But fear not! By focusing on the right CLM technical requirements, you can make this journey smoother for both you and your IT department. Your IT department will be pleased if you don’t make them do all the work to understand the technical capabilities as well as its harmonization with the rest of the systems that help run your organization.  
Let’s dive into the key technical aspects that will make your CLM a resounding success for your organization. 

Scalability and performance 

The amount of data or number of contracts that your CLM can handle is critical to the effectiveness of your contract management as a whole. Whether you are a large enterprise or even if you’re a smaller company, you need to consider the effect growth will have on your contracting system and process. You should not forget as you solve your contracting pains today that you will uncover other pains further down the line.  

For example, if you solve your contract repository needs today, your contracting process will soon show signs of wear down the line if it isn’t already in proper shape. Conversely, if you solve your process issues, your repository may not live up to the expectations of the new process. Always be prepared to have your CLM platform scale and flex to your ever-changing business needs.  

User interface and experience 

Given the investment of a new system, user adoption is paramount. Even when CLM platforms have been successfully implemented, some individuals try to work around the system. This just makes your process harder to track and makes accurate reporting impossible. The key to getting users on board? The easier your CLM software is to use, the better. Take your stakeholders along the journey of selecting a CLM platform and get their input into its functionality as well as usability. The more they feel part of the selection process, the more open they will be to adopting your easy-to-use CLM platform.  

System integration

How does your chosen CLM platform integrate within your existing tech stack? Playing well with others is always important, but when put into the context of integrating seamlessly into your existing IT structure, well, that’s priceless.  

The benefit of easy integration goes beyond the current infrastructure and extends into other applications. If you want your contract data to be accessible to departments like Finance, Operations, Legal, Procurement, and others, it’s important to ensure that your IT department understands how simple or complex these integrations might be. Ease and efficacy of integration is essential for sharing data effectively and improving business insights and overall operations. 

Security and compliance 

To ease the burden on your IT department, it should be easy to find information about the security of your chosen CLM platform. 
 
Consider the following questions:  

• Does your CLM have different permission levels according to the level of access needed?  Does it have redundancy backup?  

• How often are the backups?  

• Are your CLM’s standards compliant with different countries’ regulations?  

• What certifications does your CLM provider have?  

• How often is their security audited?  

• Does the vendor use third parties for security assessments?  

This is just a sampling of the many questions that your IT department may ask as part of your CLM implementation. And this is just the beginning. If you have at least some of the answers to the CLM technical requirements, that goes a long way in smoothing the way for your IT department, which they will undoubtedly appreciate.  

Reporting and analytics 

The essence of any CLM platform is its data. It’s wonderful to have a pre-signature process that flows easily amongst the imperative parties and then tucks it away into a centralized repository. But if you can’t easily access every bit of contract data that is contained within your agreements, then you are missing an important pillar of CLM.  

You need to ask the vendor if your chosen CLM integrates into your current reporting system and what reporting capabilities it provides on its own. Are there flexible dashboards that can be customized to each user according to their needs? Is the reporting in real-time, and if not, how often is it updated?  

You most likely need a true end-to-end CLM solution that includes all the necessary reporting functions your organization requires to stay compliant, be aware of risk levels, and provide information throughout the organization.

Support and maintenance 

Once you’ve made the sizeable purchase of a CLM, you need to ensure it’s well supported, not only in regular updates and enhancements, but also with continued maintenance. This can come in the form of technical support, customer care, user training, and even implementation at the beginning of your journey. Does your CLM provider have the necessary infrastructure and teams to provide you with all the care that you need post-purchase? Are you just a number to them, or do you have a designated team of people to help you through set-up, feature changes, suggested improvements, and overall support? It’s important to know how well you’re going to be taken care of.  

In Summary 

The more focused picture you can paint of your CLM technical requirements for your IT team, the better. In order to provide that clear picture, you need to know the right questions to ask of your chosen CLM vendor. With this information in hand, your IT team will consider you well-versed in their needs and one step closer to contract management success! 

CTA: Be sure you’re asking the right questions of your chosen CLM vendor. Download our CLM system requirements document today.