What are the Best Features of Modern Day VDRs?

Online data management and deal-making have become so much easier and safer with the evolution of virtual data rooms. An M&A transaction that used to take months or even a year can be completed in about 38 days. That’s because online data room software gives dealmakers the luxury to share data, conduct due diligence, and communicate online from anywhere, anytime.

As the demand for virtual data room software grows, data room vendors have constantly been innovating and offering a wide range of features for every type of usage. Let’s get you acquainted with data room software, its modern-day features, and the top virtual data room providers in the industry.

What is a Virtual or Electronic Data Room?

A VDR or virtual data room is a secure, cloud-based document management solution that businesses, professionals, and dealmakers use for data storage, sharing, or data distribution for regular use or during financial transactions.

Originally, online data room software was just limited to mergers and acquisitions. However, with the passage of time, modern-day data room services are rendered in complex transactions like initial public offerings, litigation, real estate management, due diligence, biotech licensing, and bankruptcy and restructuring.

Data rooms are especially helpful in all types of work with investors. They help companies securely gather, store, and share information with investors while having the ability to track and analyze their dealmaking interests. This is why data rooms are especially helpful when creating hedge funds. You can learn more about hedge funds creation and management at: https://mnacommunity.com/insights/starting-a-hedge-fund/.

Virtual Data Rooms: Multi-dimensional Business Solutions

What gives data technology an edge over similar solutions is the combination of different types of features for data management, digital communication, and deal management. For example, VDRs have tools for different forms of communication, such as online meetings, Q&As, group chats, and one-to-one conversations.

Furthermore, data room vendors now offer niche-oriented services. For example, M&A data rooms eradicate repeat requests, file duplication, and process repetition during deal-making. Dealmakers can track deal progress and assign and manage tasks with ease. Top-tier data rooms also provide checklists for different due diligence types.

In addition to that, data room vendors collaborate with seasoned dealmakers to provide professional consultation to businesses and less-experienced dealmakers.

Notable Features in Modern-day Virtual Data Rooms

Following are the features that you may consider when choosing a virtual data room.

First things first, security is the pivotal element in VDRs. That’s why modern-day data rooms are mostly ISO, FINRA, HIPAA, GDPR, SOC2, SSAE 16, and FISMA-certified. Following are some latest security features that you can easily find in the best data rooms available in the market.

• Secure fence view. Secure fence view gives your protection against unsolicited viewing. That said, you can easily hide any part or section in a document while the rest is viewable to the users.
  
• Dynamic watermarks. Dynamic or digital watermarks are images, signatures, text, etc., that you can add to your documents for copyright protection. The watermark will appear on documents whether users view them digitally or print them on paper.
  
• Remote shred. Remote shredding allows you to revoke access to any document at any time. What’s more, the file will be removed from the user’s browsing history and device storage.
  
• 256-Bit AES SSL Encryption. It is currently the highest standard for data encryption which is also used by militaries and banks. It encrypts data, whether it is shared or stored.

Other notable features include granular document permissions, built-in redaction, and multi-factor authorization.

• Audit logs. Data room administration can generate a detailed user activity report. The report gives information on users’ IP addresses, time of login and logout, documents accessed, etc.
  
• Color-coded reports. Color-coded reports are a rare feature in data rooms. These reports help you see what is happening in your VDR at just a glance. You can see the participation and activities of users in those groups and assess their areas of interest.

• Branded website. Some high-end virtual data room vendors allow you to customize your VDR website according to your brand. You can add your logo, brand color, and other brand identity elements.
  
• Bulk uploads. The bulk-upload feature is mandatory as it allows you to upload a large number of files in one go. The feature is beneficial when you are preparing a VDR for due diligence.
  
• Third-party integration. VDRs nowadays are easily integrable with external applications like Salesforce, Skype, Slack, Hubspot, and Microsoft Office, Word, Powerpoint, and Excel.
  
• Drag-n-drop. Drag-and-drop feature is super useful in sharing or uploading hundreds and thousands of files in one go.
  
• Mobile access. Virtual data room providers make sure you can access your data rooms from your mobile devices, such as Tablets or smartphones, via dedicated applications.
  
• Advanced text search. It is one of the most time-saving features that allow you to find or search any file with the help of a simple keyword, phrase, or sentence.

Final Words

Virtual data rooms are turning out to be complete deal management and data management solutions due to their unique features (mentioned above). They give you multiple layers of data protection, reduce duplications, and eliminate operational inefficiencies. Some notable data rooms include iDeals, ShareVault, Dataiste, SecureDocs, and DealRoom.