We would love you to become a client using Ark 51.

However, we know that Ark 51 has to both fit your needs and deliver value for money in order to justify making any change.

We also know that implementing any change entails effort.

With resources already at full stretch, that fact can (understandably) make people nervous. It can also lead to questions as to whether the business case for change stacks up.

We have created this FAQ to try and address some of the more common concerns that you might have during the process of confirming whether the case for change to Ark 51 really does exist.

If you feel that Ark 51 would deliver value to your organisation but are concerns about the effort in changing current processes, we hope that this document is of help. If you have any concerns that haven’t been addressed in the following pages, please do just drop us a line. We’d be delighted to chat them through.

We don’t have the budget

We understand that budgets are constantly under pressure and have tried to position Ark 51 so that it represents genuine value for money.

However, we ask you to consider Ark 51 as an investment. It is designed to save your organisation money in the short-, medium- and long-term.

Consider the value of Ark 51 in the round. What value would you ascribe to freeing up time of your existing staff so that they can focus on higher value and risk items? What is the value of gaining insight, hindsight and foresight into your document portfolio? What is the value of remaining off the regulator’s radar and enhancing compliance? How much time could you save by providing the business with a tool that allows them to self-serve – reducing the number of contract queries you receive? What price would you pay to reduce the effort involved in dealing with internal audits?

Budgets have already been set for this year

That’s fine – we understand that budgets are often approved in advance and that this can leave little, or no, room to consider additional expenditure immediately.

However, without Ark 51, the challenges that you currently face are unlikely to go away in the interim.  It’s more likely that the opposite is true.  As such, if additional budget cannot be found, or if we have missed the current budget window, let us work with you to build the business case for Ark 51 implementation within the next budget cycle.  Let’s also look at whatever other preliminary steps can usefully be taken at the present time so as to facilitate rapid implementation of Ark 51 as soon as budget permits.

We could build this internally

That may be one option.

Whilst you certainly could try to build a solution with functionality similar to Ark 51, should you really try to do this? Put simply, would this really be a good use of your time?

Without doubt, understanding the risks and opportunities within your portfolio of executed agreements is a KEY element to your business. However, building a maintaining a tech solution to help produce this result is surely not CORE to it.

How long would it take you to develop such a product? Do you even have the subject matter and technical expertise available given other priorities within the business? Both regulation and technology are constantly changing – is it really a good use of your time to attempt to stay abreast of both? What would be the opportunity cost inherent in the delay associated with any in-house build?

In contrast, our sole focus is on developing the best product possible – it is CORE to our business. In opting for Ark 51 you are subscribing to a product that has the functionality you require, is available now, and which is committed to a process of constant improvement. Ultimately, it is this focus that means we will be able to deliver a better product, at a lower cost, than any internal solution.

The price is too high

We have to admit that this isn’t something we often hear.

Ark 51 is deliberately priced to represent significant value for money for organisations of any size that have a desire to implement change in the way in which they manage portfolios of executed documentation.

However, if you do feel like the price is too high, we would respectfully ask “compared to what?”

Compared to the time lost in dealing with queries from the business? Compared to the value you could unlock by freeing up the time of existing staff to focus on higher-value work? Compared to the cost of regulatory non-compliance? Compared to the current cost in dealing with internal audit? Compared to the cost of not understanding the risks or opportunities that reside within your portfolio of contracts? Compared to the cost of an in-house build? Compared to the cost of similar products? Compared to the cost of doing nothing?

The “cost” to you as a business of not implementing change is NOT the same as the “price” you pay in order that you can implement change. “Price” shouldn’t be looked at as a headline number. It should be judged in light of the overall value that can be derived for the amount that is paid. Bear in mind that even “doing nothing” comes with a price-tag attached.

Ark 51 seems cheap. Is there a catch?

No, there really isn’t.

Ark 51 is not cheap. It may be cost-effective. Indeed, it is deliberately positioned to be so. However, it’s not cheap.

Our pricing reflects a conscious decision to deliver a mass-market solution rather than simply go ‘big game hunting’. We want to provide a solution to firms who see the need for change but, with the best will in the world, do not have the budget to spend six figures or more implementing that change. We look to give our clients the ability to punch above their weight through the use of state-of-the-art technology. We want our clients to be able to intelligently manage documentation risk and to pro-actively identify commercial opportunity – all at a price which makes sense and represents true value for money.

What’s in it for us? Hopefully, nothing but loyal, happy clients and a thriving business. Cheesy, maybe. But true nonetheless.

We’re doing OK. Do we really have a need to change?

If current processes are working for you and there is genuinely no case for change – don’t change.

Of course, it goes without saying that we would love to work with you if and when the time is right. So, if you’re all set, let’s just stay in touch, in the event that your circumstances should ever change and you require assistance.

However, be honest with yourself. Are currently systems and processes really where you need them to be? Moving from your current state to something better involves effort – we get that. But we can help you manage that change. We can ease the pain and do a lot of the heavy lifting. So, if the case for change really does exist, please don’t let the mere prospect of change deprive you of the benefits that can flow as a result of making that change.

We’ve got so many things on right now. Should we wait until we are less busy?

We get it.

Lack of resource and a shortage of time are themes which constantly reoccur. Adding another thing to the already-long ‘to do’ list feels like the last thing you should be considering.

But ask yourself – realistically – are you likely to be less busy in the future than you are now? Probably not. So, if not now, when? If you don’t know “when”, how will you ever achieve the improvements that you know will benefit your organisation longer-term?

The truth is that Ark 51 is designed to SAVE you time. Yes, implementation will require an initial effort. That is the inevitable consequence of choosing change. But that change will deliver immediate benefits to your business. Moreover, we are ready and able to help with the heavy lifting – processing legacy portfolios, managing future documentation, and many things in-between.

If this is a concern, as a first step, find 20 minutes in your diary. Let’s use that time to chat about the various ways in which we may be able to assist.

There are so many other people I need to involve

We understand. This is the way of the world these days.

Why not allow us to assist? We would be delighted to speak to any and all internal stakeholders – demonstrating Ark 51’s value, addressing queries and ultimately helping you to effect the change that you have identified.

Would we actually make use of the platform?

In truth, only you can answer that question.

Needless to say, the more that you use Ark 51, the greater the benefits and the quicker they will accrue.

One thing we can say is that complexity will NOT be a barrier to use. Put simply, the platform is incredibly user-friendly and intuitive to use. And, of course, if you have any questions, we are always there to assist.

More generally, for those that are really short of time or resource and wish to take outsourcing to its logical conclusion, let’s have a chat. We can do the heavy lifting for you – either as part of a discrete project or on a fully-outsourced, ongoing, basis.

It is going to take time to get used to this platform. That’s time I don’t have.

Honest response…?

It’s not going to take you that much time to become familiar with the platform. It’s very user-friendly and intuitive.

If you are really hard pressed for time, talk to us about the other support services we can offer. Specifically, we can upload all documentation and data for you – either to help you get going or on a fully-outsourced basis. This will leave you free to simply benefit from the insights that Ark 51 can provide and to focus on other issues.

Will it take me ages (and an army of paralegals) to get up and running?

No, not at all.

Ark 51 uses artificial intelligence to extract data from legal documentation.  It is inherently flexible and is specifically designed so that you can start using it immediately.  You will not need to employ a large team of paralegals in order for it to be able to recognise provisions or begin extracting data.

That’s not to say that human input will never be required.  This very much depends on the amount, nature and level of detail of the data you wish to extract.  After all, data quality is paramount.  However, an additional benefit of artificial intelligence is that it will allow you to efficiently revisit the portfolio and extract further data, should this subsequently prove to be necessary – still without the need to employ a large team of paralegals.

Despite this flexibility, if your existing portfolio is very large, we wouldn’t recommend that you try and boil the ocean on day 1 in terms of uploading your entire back book.  Rather, let us work with you to prioritise the portfolio.  Often, 80% of the risk resides with about 20% of the counterparties.  If planned correctly, it is possible to rapidly create a focused repository of information which delivers real value to internal stakeholders and which continues to develop over time – all without diverting disproportionate amounts of internal resource.

Would it be value for money?

We think so.

“Value for money” is really all in the eye of the beholder. If a product is within budget, if it’s delivered on time and if it creates the necessary benefits, then most people would accept that it represents value for money.

In terms of benefits, Ark 51 will:

• • save cost by reducing the need for manual data extraction processes,
• • create time that existing staff members can use to focus on higher-value work,
• • reduce the need to perform low-level administrative processes – increasing job satisfaction and variety of work,
• • enhance compliance,
• • improve risk management,
• • reduce time to market, and
• • help to unlock commercial opportunity