Digital contracting vendor Ironclad has published an inaugural Digital Contracting Data Trends Report, containing aggregated and anonymised data from over a billion contracts. The data gives insights into how businesses are operating at large and uncovers workplace trends affecting businesses today. A few of the key findings include:
- Severance and termination agreements peaked in 2020 (up 247%), with hiring hitting an all time high in 2021 (up 177%);
- Contract search volume in 2020 rose by 470% as companies sought to gain control of potential risks, with searches for “force majeure” spiking at the beginning of the pandemic and with the Delta and Omicron waves;
- Contract completion times dropped by 60% in 2022 compared to pre-pandemic levels, with companies completing contracts about 10 days faster on average;
- Procurement agreements grew by 250% in 2020 and more than that in 2021, suggesting that companies have been experimenting with non-traditional ways to resource.
“Every business decision requires a contract, and, because of that, contract data can give businesses a holistic view of not only their legal obligations, but also their operations,” said Jason Boehmig, CEO and co-founder of Ironclad. “This allows companies to create a data layer that reveals insights around how teams are operating, how quickly deals are closing, how much spend companies are committed to, and much more.”
The analysis comprises a mix of process data around the contracting process, and metadata, to gain insight into trends across a wide range of areas in business.
The data shows more hiring of consultants and services than ever before: partnerships and consulting agreements grew by nearly 80% in 2020, and by 119% in 2021, compared to 2019 levels. In a similar vein, procurement agreements (commonly used for software and other services) grew by 250% in 2020, and 220% in 2021, compared to pre-pandemic levels.
“By providing a platform that can not only extract metadata from existing contracts, but also generate unique insights about the actual contracting process, we’re able to paint a much more holistic picture of the business world through contract data,” said Boehmig. “This report is a true testament to the power of contract data, and serves as a glimpse into the future of business analytics. We’re excited to be part of this journey, and to be helping build that future.”
You can download the report here:Digital Contracting Data Trends Report
Does anyone know where the data is from? Are they anonymising and analysing their customer’s data? If so, are the changes normalised for a presumed increase in use of Ironclad?