Ontra Global Survey Reveals Significant Increase in Contracts Negotiated, Finds Outsourcing Extremely Effective
71% of legal and investment professionals have seen routine contract work grow in the last 6 Months; 97% of those who outsource routine contracts find it effective
San Francisco, December 15, 2021 – Ontra, the global leader in Contract Automation and Intelligence, today released the results of a multinational third-party survey spotlighting the current state of contract negotiation. The survey explored the management of routine contracts—like non-disclosure agreements, joinders and engagement letters—and the extent to which businesses are (or aren’t) outsourcing or using technology to automate workflows and find process efficiencies.
The inaugural annual survey, which polled 1,000 legal and investment professionals of varying seniority around the world, found that 71% of respondents have seen their routine contract work grow in the last six months. To combat the strain of a heavy load of contract work in 2021, 76% of respondents outsourced their routine contracts to a legal technology provider, alternative legal services provider, outside counsel or a combination of the three. Of those respondents, 97% found contract outsourcing effective, ranking having more time for higher-value work and faster reporting as the top benefits.
Other key findings include:
- 64 percent of respondents believe that routine contract work negatively impacts workplace morale.
- 92 percent of respondents believe it would be beneficial if more contract management processes were automated or outsourced.
- Nearly eight in ten respondents plan on increasing their investment in automating or outsourcing contract management processes in 2022, versus only 2% that said their investment will decrease.
- Two in three respondents will dedicate additional funds to technology and tools for automating or outsourcing contract management processes.
“This survey confirms what we have seen for decades—legal and business professionals are continually bogged down by routine contract work,” said Troy Pospisil, CEO and Founder of Ontra. “As the world continues to rebound from the global pandemic, those who assume they can easily scale manual processes to match the frenetic pace of growth are setting their teams up for hundreds of hours of bottleneck work. Enterprises striving to evolve, lead, and compete effectively in their industries can prevent burnout and avoid the risk of losing strong internal talent in the ‘Great Resignation’ by providing employees with a better work-life balance and freeing their time to focus on strategic tasks that drive the business forward.”
To learn more about Ontra, visit https://www.ontra.ai.
Survey Resources Available
“The State of Legal Technology 2022: Key Findings in the Outsourcing and Automation of Contract Management” is available for complimentary download here.
Methodology
A custom online survey to 1,000 business and legal professionals in the US, UK, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Respondents were a mix of CCO, CFO, COO, CLO, general counsel, associate general counsel, partners, senior associates, asset managers, associates, and junior associates in the Financial Services, Healthcare, Real Estate, Technology, Government, Education, Energy and Entertainment industries. Most company sizes were in the range of 50-1,000 employees, with priorities for companies with legal teams in the range of 1-15.
About Ontra
Ontra is the global leader in Contract Automation and Intelligence. The Ontra platform combines AI-enabled software with a global network of highly-trained lawyers to offer a comprehensive and scalable solution for recurring legal workflows, such as processing routine contracts and tracking obligations in complex agreements. Ontra delivers purpose-built contract workflow and data management tools to easily manage contractual obligations, rapidly identify key provisions, and analyze trends and benchmarks. By streamlining legal processes and transforming contracts into structured data, Ontra lowers costs, improves quality, increases efficiency, and provides actionable insights, ultimately freeing customers to focus on more impactful and engaging work.
Ontra is headquartered in San Francisco, with global operations across North America, Europe, and Asia. Learn more at https://www.ontra.ai.