Virtual data rooms (VDRs) are secure online environments that permit large amounts of confidential information to be shared outside of the firewall of a company. VDRs are used to facilitate due diligence for M&A transactions in bankruptcy, litigation, and fundraising.
A VDR’s ease of use can determine the success or failure of the agreement for all parties. If the system has a steep learning curve it will be more cumbersome for participants to upload, save and manage files which could slow down additional reading progress and potentially delaying negotiations.
A VDR must be efficiently organized for effective collaboration and easy access. The ability to organize documents into tags or folders will assist users in finding information faster and more efficiently. In addition, implementing features like real-time comments and annotations can boost the speed of discussions.
The most reliable VDRs offer granular document permissions, allowing administrators to specify access policies right down to the individual file level. This includes features such as redaction, which blacks out areas of a file so that personally-identifiable information remains private. The top VDRs also come with security certifications, such as ISO 27001 and SOC 1/2/3. They may also be GDPR or HIPAA certified. They’ll also come with a variety of file formats and cross-platform compatibility. This allows users to use a variety of devices and platforms.