Why Migrate? 3 Reasons to Prioritize Legacy Contract Migration
As the year comes to a close, 2023 planning is underway for many. If your organization has been waiting for the right time to invest in a Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) solution, don’t let the daunting process of legacy contract migration slow you down!
What is legacy contract migration?
For those that may be new to that term, legacy contract migration is the (brave) act of transferring all of your existing agreements to a new contracting platform. This process is considered key to a CLM implementation because aside from bringing over the contracts themselves, you are also transferring all of the data that is associated with these contract records, such as total value, renewal dates, and post-award obligations. Having these kinds of insights at your fingertips in a CLM can support you in maintaining compliance and prevent costly oversights such as revenue leakage or missed milestones. But while the value of this process is clear, it’s often seen as a barrier to “going live” on a new CLM platform.
Although legacy contract migration is a must, it’s important to see it as a parallel journey to your CLM implementation. The truth is, you will want access to all of your legacy contract data eventually, but as we work with both fast-growing and Fortune 500 companies to transform their contracting processes, we tell them all the same thing: start with your MVP (minimum viable product). In other words, start by bringing over the legacy contracts that will be most essential to your CLM success in the first few months, then worry about the rest.
If the thought of migrating your contracts completely overwhelms you and you aren’t sure where to begin, it’s important to start by uncovering your most compelling need for migration in the first place. Organizations usually prioritize contract migration for the following three reasons:
INFORMING BUSINESS DECISIONS WITH Historical Data
Legacy contracts are full of valuable information about a business and everything that keeps it moving, such as its partners, suppliers, and customers. Having a centralized and searchable repository allows organizations to streamline reporting and analysis and empowers leaders to use actionable data to make informed business decisions. By migrating your legacy contracts and metadata, you’ll be able to see the total value of your agreements, identify bottlenecks in your contracting process, and make adjustments accordingly to maximize your resources.
SIMPLIFYING Reporting & Revenue Recovery
If a business isn’t able to easily identify unwanted risks in its contracts, it could be exposed to fines, disputes or even penalties for missed milestones. Additionally, evaluating how a contract is performing against expectations and tracking obligations that need to be fulfilled throughout its lifecycle can be challenging when contracts are living in disparate systems. By automating important reminders with a CLM and triggering notifications to the appropriate people on your team, you can rest easy knowing that your organization will never be the victim of an untimely auto renewal ever again.
MAINTAINING OR STRENGTHENING Compliance
A centralized view of your agreements can also inform your risk mitigation and management strategies, helping you to protect the health and reputation of your organization. Noncompliance usually occurs due to lack of visibility, awareness, and consistency. People involved in contract management at your organization need to be able to find contracts easily, understand what the company is responsible for within the context of the agreement, and monitor obligations as they change over time. With a CLM solution, you can easily view all contract activity in one place, and quickly search for specific terms and provisions to ensure your organization’s preferred positions are being upheld.
SIMPLIFY CONTRACTS & ACCELERATE GROWTH WITH MALBEK
The truth is, all of these reasons for contract migration are important to your overall CLM strategy, and the Malbek team is here to help you identify the best starting place for you. Contact us to learn more about how we set our customers up for implementation success and support their migration needs.
