If you’ve ever chased a missing signature, dug through inboxes for a “final” PDF, or spotted an auto-renewal clause two days too late, you’ve felt the pain that Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) was designed to eliminate. Once seen as a back-office legal process, CLM has now become a mission-critical function across entire organisations.

The global CLM software market was valued at over US $1.1 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow at nearly 13% CAGR through 2034. As companies embrace digital transformation and AI, contracts are no longer static files—they’re structured, analysable business assets.

This guide explores the full picture of CLM: what it is, how it works, why it matters more than ever in 2025, and how the right CLM tool can transform contract management into a driver of growth and compliance.

What Is Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM)?

A contract has a lifecycle: it begins with intake, moves through drafting and negotiation, is executed and stored, and eventually renews or expires. Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) refers to the processes and technologies that manage this entire journey.

Modern CLM software supports creation with templates and clause libraries, collaboration through secure negotiation and review portals, execution via e-signature integration, and management of obligations, renewals, and SLAs. On top of this, analytics modules provide dashboards that highlight contract performance, risks, and opportunities.

By combining legal precision with business agility, CLM turns contracts into a source of visibility, efficiency, and compliance.

Why CLM Software Is Essential in 2025

In today’s regulatory and operational climate, contracts are both strategic assets and compliance risks. Frameworks such as GDPR, HIPAA, and financial standards like ASC 606 and IFRS 15 make contract language a key focus for audits.

According to the DocuSign 2025 Trends Report, more than half of corporate legal departments now use a CLM platform. Two major drivers explain the surge. Digital transformation initiatives are reframing contracts as data sources rather than static PDFs. At the same time, advances in AI allow unstructured text to be converted into searchable, analysable datasets—a development that EY calls “a fast-track to contract intelligence.”

Without a CLM tool, organisations face bottlenecks, compliance exposure, and revenue leakage.

How a CLM System Works

A robust CLM platform introduces automation and structure across the contract lifecycle. Intake forms capture key metadata such as jurisdiction, counterparties, and risk factors. Drafting tools use approved templates and clause libraries to generate compliant first drafts. Review and negotiation features provide version control, redlining, and approval routing. Signature processes connect seamlessly with platforms like DocuSign or Adobe Sign.

Once a contract is active, post-signature management capabilities track renewals, milestones, and obligations. Finally, analytics modules surface insights in dashboards, allowing leaders to identify trends, risks, and opportunities in real time.

The result is shorter cycle times, reduced risk, and stronger visibility across the business.

Benefits of CLM by Department

CLM software has benefits across multiple business functions. Sales teams can automate contract creation from CRM data, accelerate deal closure, and gain real-time visibility into contract status. Procurement departments can standardise supplier terms, manage third-party risk, and ensure compliance with rebate or diversity clauses. Legal functions can reduce time spent redlining, enforce clause usage, and focus more on strategic issues. Finance teams can align billing and revenue recognition with contractual language. HR teams can automate NDAs, offer letters, and onboarding paperwork.

CLM is no longer “just for Legal” – It touches every major function in an organisation.

CLM vs. CRM, DMS, and ERP

Other enterprise systems manage parts of the process, but none cover the contract lifecycle end-to-end. A CRM manages customer relationships and pipelines, a DMS stores documents, and an ERP controls finance and operations. CLM connects these systems and governs the legal and commercial foundation of every transaction.

DocuSign’s 2024 acquisition of Lexion reflects this integration trend, signalling a move towards unified “agreement clouds” that centralise contract intelligence.

Trends in Contract Lifecycle Management for 2025

The CLM market in 2025 is shaped by several trends. AI copilots are assisting in drafting clauses and highlighting risks in line. Predictive analytics are forecasting contract renewals and churn. Smart contracts are automating fulfilment when certain conditions are met, such as delivery confirmations. ESG clauses are increasingly being embedded in supplier contracts, with progress tracked in sustainability dashboards.

The direction is clear: contracts are becoming intelligent, proactive assets.

Choosing the Right CLM Platform

When evaluating CLM software, organisations should start with a pain-point audit to understand which contracts create the most delays or risk. Scalability matters—your chosen platform should grow with your business. AI features should be transparent and auditable. Access controls should extend to the clause level. References and case studies in your industry are another key proof point.

It is also important to budget for implementation and change management, as these can exceed the cost of licensing.

Why You Need a CLM Tool for CLM

While contract lifecycle management can theoretically be done manually, the scale and complexity of modern organisations make it impractical. Spreadsheets and shared drives simply cannot deliver the visibility and control required. A dedicated CLM tool is essential to reduce risk by tracking obligations and renewals, to improve efficiency by cutting cycle times, to unlock insight by transforming documents into analysable data, and to enhance collaboration across business functions through structured workflows.

Without a platform in place, organisations risk hidden liabilities, revenue delays, and siloed processes.

Why Brooklyn Solutions Is a Strong Fit

Brooklyn Solutions delivers a modern approach to Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM), helping organisations move beyond static documents to intelligent contract management. By centralising all agreements into a single repository, enriched with AI-powered clause extraction and obligation tracking, Brooklyn ensures contracts are no longer hidden risks or missed opportunities. This makes contract data searchable, actionable, and aligned to business goals, reducing the value typically lost after signature.

What sets Brooklyn apart in the CLM space is its AI-driven analysis with Ask Brooklyn, real-time compliance monitoring, and collaborative dashboards. These capabilities enable teams across legal, procurement, and finance to achieve faster cycle times, improved compliance, and stronger negotiations. By combining contract management with supplier and risk oversight, Brooklyn ensures contracts are not just managed but actively leveraged to drive growth and resilience.

Rolling Out CLM in Practice

Successful CLM rollouts usually begin small. For example, a General Counsel might secure CFO approval with a simple ROI model. AI can then classify thousands of legacy contracts within weeks. A pilot project, such as automating NDAs, often delivers quick wins like a 35% reduction in cycle times. With phased expansion, renewal capture rates improve, compliance becomes easier to demonstrate, and legal teams spend more time on strategic advisory work.

How to Measure CLM Success

Measuring success is essential to proving the value of a CLM investment. One important metric is time-to-signature, which demonstrates how quickly contracts move through the cycle compared to the old manual process. Tracking manual touchpoints per contract shows how much administrative burden has been removed. Reductions in revenue leakage highlight the financial value of stronger obligation management. Monitoring fulfilment of contractual obligations demonstrates compliance and risk reduction.

User adoption and engagement rates are another critical indicator—if teams across Sales, Procurement, and Legal are using the platform effectively, it signals genuine process change. Finally, tracking the acceptance rate of AI-driven suggestions provides a measure of how much value automation is adding.

CLM FAQs

What is CLM in simple terms?
It is the structured process and software used to manage contracts from drafting through to expiry, ensuring obligations are met.

How does CLM software work?
CLM platforms use templates, workflows, and AI to automate contract creation, review, approval, and monitoring.

Is CLM only for Legal?
No. Procurement, Sales, Finance, and HR all benefit from CLM.

Conclusion: The Case for CLM in 2025

Contracts in 2025 are no longer dormant PDFs. They are dynamic, data-rich assets that can either accelerate or derail business performance. CLM software transforms contracts from administrative overhead into a competitive advantage.

The next step is simple: Audit your top 100 contracts and count how many lack searchable metadata or structured storage. That number will make the case for CLM louder than any industry report.