What is oneNDA?

In the complex tapestry of modern business relationships, the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) stands as a critical linchpin, safeguarding sensitive information exchanged between parties. NDAs play the foundational role of fostering trust and facilitating innovation. To fully gauge the intricacies of NDAs and their pivotal importance in business dealings, we invite you to read our recent blog post on the topic.

Building upon this understanding, we now turn our attention to a groundbreaking initiative poised to transform how businesses approach NDAs: OneNDA.

The birth of oneNDA

oneNDA originated from a collective frustration with the status quo. Businesses, especially in sectors driven by fast-paced innovation and cross-company collaborations, found themselves mired in endless negotiations over NDAs, often before any real work could commence.

In a world where agility and efficiency are not just valued but required, the traditional process of drafting, negotiating, and finalizing NDAs has increasingly been seen as a bottleneck. This process was not only time-consuming, but also resource-intensive, leading to delays and increased costs. Recognizing this challenge, a consortium of legal professionals and industry leaders came together to create a standardized NDA template.

Enter oneNDA: the world’s first standard-form NDA initiative, backed by the statement: “by the legal community for the legal community (and also businesses).” A beacon of simplicity in the often-complicated legal landscape, oneNDA offers an open-source universal template designed to be applicable across a wide range of industries and negotiations.

Understanding oneNDA

oneNDA is more than just a document; it’s a movement towards standardization and efficiency. Co-founder of oneNDA and founder of TLB Law Electra Japonas found that 63% of the agreements reviewed for clients were NDAs but they only accounted for 7% of revenue. This was a huge gap between the value brought in and the time and effort spent. Alongside oneNDA co-founder Roisin Noonan, COO of TLB Law, she decided to dig deeper into this issue and received an overwhelming global response that encouraged the pair to spearhead and design the initiative for a standard NDA.

By providing a single, streamlined template, oneNDA aims to cut through the redundancy and variability that typify traditional NDA processes. This initiative isn’t about reinventing the wheel, but rather about aligning the wheels in the same direction, ensuring smoother, quicker initiations of business relations.

Why it’s relevant

In an era where speed to market can determine the success or failure of a venture, the ability to expedite the preliminary stages of partnership and collaboration is invaluable. Here are the benefits that oneNDA brings to the table:

1. Time savings

By providing a standard template for NDAs, oneNDA significantly reduces the time typically spent on drafting and negotiating these agreements. Additionally, the oneNDA template highlights the elements that vary, allowing you to simply input your information instead of repeatedly drafting and revising the document. This allows businesses to initiate projects and collaborations more quickly.

2. Cost reduction

Standardizing the NDA process can lead to a noticeable decrease in legal expenses associated with drafting and reviewing multiple unique NDAs. This is particularly beneficial for smaller businesses or startups with limited legal budgets.

3. Clarity

oneNDA’s straightforward template is designed to be easily understood by all parties, minimizing confusion and the potential for misunderstandings. This clear communication can help prevent disputes and build trust.

4. Enhanced efficiency

The use of a universally accepted NDA template streamlines business operations, enabling companies to focus more on core activities rather than being bogged down by the administrative aspects of agreement negotiations.

5. Redirected focus

By reducing the time and resources spent on NDAs, organizations can allocate more effort towards innovation, development, and achieving their strategic objectives.

6. Accessibility

The open-source nature of oneNDA makes it readily accessible to any business, regardless of size or industry, democratizing access to a tool that simplifies and protects business interactions. For third-party initiated agreements, a oneNDA template can be made shareable through the oneCLICK automation.

Divergent views

oneNDA has not been met with universal acclaim. Here are the reasons why:

1. Issues with standardization

Some stakeholders express concerns over the one-size-fits-all approach; there might be an unintended compromise on the comprehensiveness of the protective measures traditionally offered by NDAs. Ultimately, the issue is that unique circumstances and specific needs may be overshadowed by the pursuit of efficiency.

2. Weakened security

The move towards simplification with initiatives like OneNDA, while streamlining business processes, brings with it concerns about gaps in protection, making sensitive information more vulnerable and potentially impacting the integrity of confidentiality agreements. This apprehension about the potential erosion of legal rigor stems from the simplification process possibly diluting the protective strength of NDAs.

3. Early days

Some critics believe oneNDA is a good concept and even a good start— but would advise businesses to hold off until more tested and refined versions come along. oneNDA currently has an exclusion of terms and clauses that aren’t usable (along with the reasoning behind the exceptions) that can be seen as both supporting and challenging this particular concern.

Agiloft’s perspective on oneNDA

At Agiloft, we see oneNDA as a step forward in contract management. At the forefront of this contracting transformation, we stay committed to providing robust, flexible solutions that accommodate initiatives like oneNDA. Our Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) software is engineered for adaptability, allowing for seamless integration with initiatives like oneNDA.

We believe in the power of technology to simplify the complex, to turn obstacles into opportunities, and to pave the way for a future where business relationships can flourish unencumbered by procedural inefficiencies.

Moving forward

The evolution of oneNDA reflects a broader movement towards efficiency and standardization in legal processes. While there will always be room for bespoke solutions in certain contexts, the drive towards universally accepted templates like oneNDA signifies a shift in how businesses approach the foundational elements of collaboration and confidentiality.

Learn more about how our CLM solution can help you save time, money, and headaches. Contact us to start a conversation today.