There are many virtual data rooms. They are suitable for different enterprises and have different scales and opportunities for growth. The material presented in this article will help you navigate the variety of such services. In addition, you will learn what to look for when choosing a virtual data room.
Rules for choosing a virtual data room
Today, data room vendors offer various products for various business sectors. The following tips will help you choose the best option for any size business.
Safety
The most important task of a virtual data room is to keep all your documents in the most secure place possible. And if you need to share with third parties, you configure access as you see fit.
Many large companies now prohibit their employees from sharing materials using Dropbox or iCloud – through these services; data can be leaked to third parties very quickly since they do not have proper protection.
Price
It all depends on how big your business is and what tasks the data room must solve. If you plan to buy a VDR for 20-30 people teamwork, you can get by with space for $15-25 per month.
If a vast M&A deal is at stake, preceded by due diligence, then be prepared to shell out $500-$1,000 or more per month.
Functional
Some data rooms are stocked with versatile tools. They can be used equally effectively for teamwork as well as big deals. However, there are data rooms tailored for specific tasks. For example, it could be an M&A deal.
Do not forget about simplicity – this is the most important thing. The service should not slow down your work; it take valuable minutes from employees.
Support
Before buying a service, check how well the support service works – it should be in touch around the clock. You may have unforeseen questions about the operation of the service and the subtleties of the settings. Ideally, the developer company always provides the most comprehensive manual, which tells how to use the product. Sometimes large enterprises even send their employee to help set up the data room.
Popular VDR Services
There are two major groups in the VDR services market:
- The first group includes such mastodons as Merrill Datasite, Intralinks, RR Donnelley. They began when M&A deals were still taking place in large office buildings involving dozens of employees from both companies. This segment is designed for severe clients – extensive holdings and industrial enterprises. They are not sorry to give thousands or more dollars a month for their data security. Such services are not easy to operate – a unique team of experts is created to maintain them.
- The second group of virtual data rooms is more accessible services for a wider range of consumers. These include, for example, SecureDocs, Ansarada. In addition, they are more suitable for small teams, and small and medium businesses.
Despite the differences in price, the data room benefits are the same for both groups: security (proven by certificates), convenience for different transactions, flexibility in access settings, and large amounts of memory for storing data.