Why "Good Enough" Enterprise Contract Management is No Longer Good Enough
For too long, businesses have relied on basic contract lifecycle management (CLM) systems — tools that technically get the job done, but tend to create more headaches than they help.
Whether you’re a small to medium-sized business trying to scale or an enterprise organization managing thousands of contracts, sticking with a “good enough” CLM solution can leave you vulnerable to inefficiencies, missed revenue opportunities, and even compliance risks. And as demands on your business grow, the pressure to move beyond the bare minimum becomes harder to ignore.
Luckily, you don't have to quietly accept the status quo anymore. Here’s why outdated CLM tools are costing you more than you think, and how AI-based enterprise contract management tools are stepping in to fill the gaps:
The Hidden Cost of Subpar Enterprise Contract Management Tools
At first glance, basic enterprise contract management systems seem to offer everything a company might need: a digital repository, generic templates, and a way to track contract timelines. But the reality is, 87% of organizations report they face challenges with contracting technology. Our theory? It's because their features may work well enough for small-scale operations, but for enterprise organizations or companies planning to scale, the cracks begin to show.
Let's take a closer look at these pitfalls and what causes them:
- Manual workarounds: Basic contract systems often require teams to manually track contract milestones, such as renewal dates or compliance deadlines. For example, a legal team might use spreadsheets or calendar reminders to keep track of expiring contracts, leading to missed deadlines, costly auto-renewals, or last-minute renegotiations that could have been avoided with automated alerts. Over time, these manual processes create bottlenecks and increase the risk of human error.
- Siloed data: Inadequate contract management systems typically lack integration with other business tools like CRM or ERP platforms. This forces teams to manually transfer contract details between systems, increasing the likelihood of data discrepancies. For example, a sales contract with a key customer may not be reflected accurately in the finance system, causing delays in invoicing or misalignment on payment terms. These silos slow down decision-making and create inefficiencies across departments.
- Limited insights: Basic platforms often provide only static reports on contract status — such as whether a contract is signed or awaiting approval — without offering deeper insights. For example, legal teams may not have visibility into which types of contracts consistently experience delays or which vendors have the highest rate of non-compliance. Without the ability to analyze contract trends or identify high-risk areas, businesses miss out on opportunities to optimize workflows, reduce risk, and improve contract performance.
What Modern Enterprise Organizations Need in a Contract Management Tool
Successful companies are no longer content with systems that simply “work.” They’re looking for platforms that help teams work faster, smarter, and more effectively through features like:
- End-to-End Automation: Every minute spent manually tracking deadlines or chasing approvals is a minute that could be better spent elsewhere. Teams don’t need to be buried in routine tasks that could easily be automated. A CLM platform that automatically sends renewal reminders, routes documents to the right person at the right time, and flags potential risks takes the weight off your team's shoulders. In fact, lawyers have reported up to 82% time savings when using document automation to generate contracts and other legal documents.
- Generative AI: Drafting contracts manually is tedious — especially when every agreement has unique terms or legal stipulations. Generative AI transforms this process by generating custom drafts based on your specific requirements, pulling from approved language, key clauses, and company standards. Whether you’re drafting an NDA or a more complex agreement, AI ensures that you start with a solid, accurate draft. Beyond drafting, generative AI offers suggestions for edits, helping teams refine language during negotiations or flagging risky clauses that may need further review.
- Integrations & Add-Ins: Contracts don’t sit in isolation. They affect sales, finance, procurement, and nearly every other department. But when these teams work in silos, critical contract details tend to slip through the cracks. A CLM platform should integrate seamlessly with the systems in your tech stack, like Salesforce, HubSpot, and other critical productivity, CRM, and ERP platforms. These integrations ensure everyone from legal to finance sees the same, up-to-date information — whether it’s payment terms, timelines, or compliance obligations.
- AI-Powered Analytics: It's not enough to just know where a contract is in the approval process. You need to understand what’s inside your contracts — where the risks are hiding, what’s negotiable, and how you can get ahead of potential issues. AI-based CLM platforms do this heavy lifting for you, analyzing contracts to flag non-standard clauses, predict delays based on past performance, or highlight vendor agreements that need closer scrutiny.
- Configurable Workflows: No two businesses manage contracts the same way, and they shouldn’t have to. Whether your approval chain involves five people or fifty, or whether certain contracts need specific compliance checks, your CLM platform should mold to the way you work — not force you into a one-size-fits-all process. A flexible platform allows your team to design workflows that fit your business rules, making sure you stay efficient without sacrificing control or accountability.
- User Friendly Interface: No matter how powerful a CLM platform is, if it’s clunky or hard to navigate, your team won’t adopt it. Teams need an interface that’s simple, intuitive, and easy to learn. People want to get contracts through the pipeline, not spend hours figuring out how to use a system. An intuitive design means your team spends less time learning the platform and more time getting contracts reviewed, signed, and executed.
Now the question is, how do you determine which platforms offer these essential features?
Why We Believe the Gartner Magic Quadrant Matters for CLM Decisions
Choosing the right contract management platform means understanding the options in front of you. Trusted industry reports, like the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™, provide an independent evaluation of the CLM market, helping you evaluate vendors based on completeness of visions and ability to execute.
Why is this important? Because your business deserves a platform that has been rigorously evaluated and proven to meet the high standards of companies navigating today’s complex contract environments.
That's why we believe IntelAgree’s inclusion in the 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Contract Lifecycle Management is such a meaningful milestone. To us, it reflects our commitment to moving beyond basic functionality into a space where automation, data-driven insights, and ease of use are prioritized.
What sets IntelAgree apart from "good enough" enterprise contract management solutions is how it empowers businesses like yours to manage contracts with greater agility, control, and strategic foresight. Our features include:
- AI-Driven Contract Intelligence: IntelAgree’s machine learning extracts actionable insights automatically, flagging risks and uncovering opportunities hidden in your contracts. This allows businesses to anticipate issues before they arise and make smarter decisions at every stage of the contract lifecycle.
- Saige Assist: IntelAgree's generative AI-powered contract copilot, Saige Assist, drafts, revises, and refines contracts with human-like intelligence, easing the negotiation process and lightening the workload for legal and non-legal teams alike.
- Searchable Contract Repository: With IntelAgree, advanced search functionality lets users quickly locate key clauses, terms, or documents, so nothing is ever out of reach. This saves time and ensures that teams can act on important information without delay.
- Workflow Automation: With IntelAgree, automated workflows move contracts smoothly through the process — routing them to the right stakeholders at the right time, sending reminders, and reducing delays. This level of efficiency helps avoid bottlenecks and ensures contracts are always moving forward.
- Customizable Dashboards: IntelAgree’s customizable dashboards provide a clear, real-time overview of contract performance, helping businesses stay ahead of renewals, avoid penalties, and seize opportunities for renegotiation with ease.
- Seamless Collaboration: IntelAgree seamlessly integrates with tools your teams already use — like Microsoft Office, Dropbox, Salesforce and more — and offers shared clause libraries to keep everyone on the same page. Teams can review, edit, and finalize contracts without endless email chains or miscommunication.
CLM Maturity Roadmap: From Basic to Best-in-Class Tools
If your current contract management system feels like it's falling short — missing deadlines, creating bottlenecks, or complicating compliance — you may be wondering where you stand and how to move forward.
The visual below will help you identify where your enterprise organization falls in its contract management journey and what steps you can take to advance toward a best-in-class, AI-powered CLM solution:
Once you’ve figured out where stand, follow these steps to help you choose the right platform:
- Audit Your Current System: Take a hard look at your current contract management process. Are there recurring bottlenecks? Do you often miss deadlines, renewals, or face compliance issues? Pinpointing these pain points will highlight where improvements are needed.
- Engage Key Stakeholders: Contract management touches multiple departments, including legal, procurement, sales, and finance. Get input from all relevant teams about their current frustrations and what they need from a CLM system. Their input will ensure the platform you choose works for everyone, not just one department.
- Set Clear Goals: Be specific about what success looks like. Is it cutting contract approval times in half? Eliminating manual tasks that eat up valuable time? Ensuring full compliance on every deal? Clear, measurable goals will help guide your decision-making and keep the project on track.
- Identify Must-Have Features: Based on what you’ve learned from your audit and stakeholder conversations, define the key features that will add the most value. Whether it’s automating workflows, gaining real-time insights, or integrating smoothly with your current tools, prioritizing these features will narrow down your options to platforms that truly solve your problems.
- Evaluate CLM Providers: We believe you must use trusted industry reports, such as the Gartner Magic Quadrant, to help create your shortlist. Request demos that focus on your specific pain points and goals. Go beyond pricing — scalability, ease of use, and customer support are just as critical to long-term success (and download our whitepaper, "Contract Lifecycle Management and the Generative AI Impact," for a more detailed vendor vetting checklist.)
- Pilot and Measure: After selecting a platform, start with a pilot program using a small batch of contracts. Measure how much time is saved, how easily your teams adapt to the tool, and how well it integrates with existing processes. Use these insights to make refinements before scaling it across the organization.
Ready for an Enterprise Contract Management Platform That Works With You?
It’s time to reconsider what you’re settling for. The cost of using a “good enough” CLM platform is more than just inconvenience: it’s lost opportunities, wasted time, and increased risk.
IntelAgree offers the automation, insights, and scalability to turn static contracts into valuable business assets. Schedule a demo to learn how we can help you track every contract, analyze every clause, and simplify every process so you can manage contracts with confidence.
Disclaimer:
GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner and Magic Quadrant is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved.
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
