Recognized for Innovation, Ironclad Unveils a Telling Business Story in the COVID-19 Era
Businesses are pivoting fast in the new world order, first-ever contract data report shows
Aug 06, 2020, 15:00 ET
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Behind every change in business is a change in contracts. That's illustrated in the first-of-its-kind data report released today by Ironclad, the leading digital contracting platform. Ironclad has been focused on empowering companies with contract data during the evolving crisis. Recently, the company was recognized for its breakthrough product and strong employee culture as number 35 on Fast Company's 100 Best Workplaces for Innovators, alongside companies including Google and Slack.
The data in contracts is a barometer of business health, setting the pace for every business transaction and relationship. Yet contract data remains one of the most underused sources of operational intelligence. Ironclad aims to illuminate this data for modern businesses in its inaugural contract data report, "Contract Data Unveiled: COVID-19 Impact Report."
The report analyzes anonymized and aggregated data from over 100,000 contracts on its platform—spanning a dozen different industries—in the months preceding and following the onset of the pandemic. As the crisis continues to develop, the report offers exclusive intelligence into companies' responses to COVID-19, new pivots, and the unprecedented changes in the state of business.
Key findings include:
- Companies are prioritizing control and agility more than ever. Review of contracts has been at an all-time high—up 96% in April from the second half of 2019 average—as companies worked around the clock to get a handle on their obligations. Negotiation of active deals, as indicated by the number of contract versions, has also been at a record high, surging 46% from February to March.
- Companies have been making fast pivots to adapt to novel demands. March saw a 117% increase in the creation of new contract types, from first-time contracts offering remote doctor visits and designating essential workers to new types of sales agreements with restaurants to alleviate the economic impact.
- Legal teams at companies are stepping up in face of the crisis. Legal reviewed 80% more contracts in March than the H2 2019 average as agreements that were previously executed by other departments now need Legal's review due to new complications.
"Contracts are a powerful barometer of company health because they enable every business transaction," said Jason Boehmig, Ironclad CEO. "Whether it's a new sales agreement or a new marketing strategy, every business-critical decision must ultimately be executed through a contract. So by examining trends in contract data, you can get an interesting vantage point into how the business is doing."
Read the full report here.
About Ironclad
Ironclad is the leading digital contracting platform for legal teams. By streamlining contract workflows, from creation and approvals to compliance and insights, Ironclad frees legal to be the strategic advisors they're meant to be. Ironclad is used by industry leaders and top innovators like L'Oréal, Mastercard, and the Texas Rangers to unlock the power of their contract data. Ironclad was named one of the 20 Rising Stars as part of the Forbes 2019 Cloud 100 list, the definitive list of the top 100 private cloud companies in the world. The company is backed by investors like Accel, Sequoia, Y Combinator, and Emergence Capital.
For more information about Ironclad, please visit https://www.ironcladapp.com.
SOURCE Ironclad Inc.
