Overall rating:
4.9/5
Excellent
iDeals
Fully functional free trial: 30 days
Key features:
- 8 levels of granular user permissions
- Integrated Q&A workflows
- Advanced in-app live chat support 24/7 with a 30-second response time
What users say about iDeals
Pros and cons
- Built-in document redaction and eight levels of granular permissions require that everyone adhere to company regulations. It’s also easy to restrict downloading, uploading, viewing, and printing of files across users and groups.
- An intuitive multi-lingual interface supporting 15 languages with scroll-through viewing, mobile applications, and audit logs simplifies document management. You can access the data room on any device and generate detailed user activity reports.
- Q&A workflows with bulk actions and question auto-forwarding make it easy to centralize communications. One gets relevant and qualified business information from subject-matter experts in no time.
- We didn’t face significant issues except that we made file paths too long and complicated the archiving process. However, it’s a common problem in all operating systems, and the technical support team helped us with the workaround quickly.
Ease of use
Ease of use
Average 4.1
Customer Support
Average 3.9
Ease of setup
Average 4.2
Overall rating:
4.7/5
Good
Intralinks
Free trial: No
Key features:
- Video uploading through Zoom integration
- Real-time insights on data room usage
- Document-based workflows for deal management
What users say about Intralinks
Pros and cons
- Zoom integration drastically helps in remote workflows, allowing us to upload presentations, video reviews, tour guides, and other valuable materials. It helps to integrate video assets at a business scale and secure them to the highest standard.
- Detailed VDR metric reporting captures deal insights in real time. Tracking user activity is a breeze with exportable activity logs.
- AI-assisted redaction saves valuable time while reviewing customer contracts. It scans documents for PII information and applies redactions automatically, giving us a significant productivity boost.
- Strict pricing policies make us consider alternative VDR solutions. The per-page pricing has quickly surpassed our already extensive budget, forcing us to find a VDR with flat-fee plans.
- Intralinks clunky interface makes admins and users struggle to navigate the data room and requires significant training before the VDR starts yielding benefits.
Ease of use
Ease of use
Average 4.1
Customer Support
Average 3.9
Ease of setup
Average 4.2
Overall rating:
4.6/5
Good
Datasite
Free trial: Yes
Key features:
- Integrated Q&A workflows for due diligence
- Drill-down reports and analytics
- Smart tools for easy content management
What users say about Datasite
Pros and cons
- Buy-side specific workflows and pipeline management improve due diligence for acquiring companies. Buyers can send due diligence checklists and assemble, track, and categorize due diligence requests.
- AI pattern recognition helps the due diligence team redact PII information in hundreds of business documents. Advanced search allows finding specific terms, names, email addresses, and phone numbers easily.
- Integrated Q&A workflows speed up buyer communications. It’s easy to manage requests and questions using Q&A roles and FAQs.
- Datasite charges per page and prices various file formats differently, making billing overly complicated and unreasonably expensive. Therefore, it best suits small companies with limited document flows.
- It appears that screen capture blocking doesn’t work on mobile devices. Also, the inability to apply IP restrictions compromises document security and opens many possibilities for data misuse.
Ease of use
Ease of use
Average 4.1
Customer Support
Average 3.9
Ease of setup
Average 4.2
Overall rating:
4.5/5
Good
Onehub
Free trial: 30 days
Key features:
- FTP getaway for mass uploads
- Document previews supporting popular file formats
- Comments and tasks for collaboration
What users say about Onehub
Pros and cons
- Onehub's user-friendly interface simplifies document management and collaboration, making it easy for teams to navigate and utilize.
- The platform offers robust access controls, allowing administrators to assign specific permissions to users for enhanced security and control over data.
- Onehub lets users customize the virtual data room with their brand elements, reinforcing a professional image during document sharing.
- Onehub's integration options with third-party tools and apps might be more restricted compared to some other providers.
- While suitable for most use cases, Onehub might lack some of the advanced features offered by more specialized virtual data room providers.
Ease of use
Ease of use
Average 4.1
Customer Support
Average 3.9
Ease of setup
Average 4.2
Overall rating:
4.5/5
Good
Donnelley Venue
Free trial: 14 days
Key features:
- AI contract analysis for due diligence
- Automatic PII redaction in uploaded documents
- Multi-deal management and project reporting
What users say about Donnelley Venue
Pros and cons
- Donnelley Venue offers powerful data analytics tools that provide valuable insights into user activity and document interactions within the virtual data room.
- The platform employs advanced security measures, including encryption and multi-factor authentication, to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of shared documents.
- Donnelley Venue's global presence and support enable seamless collaboration and document sharing across different regions and time zones.
- Some users might find Donnelley Venue's interface and features to be complex, requiring a learning curve for optimal utilization.
- The advanced features and capabilities of Donnelley Venue might come at a higher cost compared to more basic virtual data room providers.
Ease of use
Ease of use
Average 4.1
Customer Support
Average 3.9
Ease of setup
Average 4.2
Overall rating:
4.3/5
Good
Ansarada
Free trial: Yes
Key features:
- Simple design for mobile users
- Project management tools and workflows
- Excel and email integrations
What users say about Ansarada
Pros and cons
- Ansarada's AI-driven analytics offer valuable insights into bidder engagement and document interactions, aiding in informed decision-making during due diligence.
- The platform's intuitive interface and organized workflows simplify document management and collaboration, enhancing user experience.
- Ansarada prioritizes security through features like secure watermarking and dynamic permissions, ensuring documents are protected throughout their lifecycle.
- Its advanced features and capabilities might come at a higher cost, potentially making it less suitable for smaller budgets.
- The extensive array of features and customization options could make Ansarada more complex for users who require only basic virtual data room functionality.
Ease of use
Ease of use
Average 4.1
Customer Support
Average 3.9
Ease of setup
Average 4.2
Overall rating:
4.2/5
Good
Sharevault
Free trial: Yes
Key features:
- Easy app integrations for document management
- Permissioning tools for secure collaboration
- Scheduled custom shareholder reports
What users say about Sharevault
Pros and cons
- Sharevault's dynamic watermarking enhances document security by providing a layer of protection against unauthorized sharing and distribution.
- The platform's straightforward interface and drag-and-drop functionality simplify document uploading and sharing, promoting ease of use.
- Sharevault allows users to customize the virtual data room's branding and appearance, creating a professional and cohesive experience.
- Sharevault's integration options with other software tools might be more limited compared to some other virtual data room providers.
Ease of use
Ease of use
Average 4.1
Customer Support
Average 3.9
Ease of setup
Average 4.2
On this page:
- Best virtual data room software: the complete guide
- What is a virtual data room?
- Comparison of the top virtual data rooms
- Top 3 providers overview
- Data room market grid report
- Where are virtual data rooms used?
- What are the benefits of data rooms?
- Why should you use a data room?
- 6 steps to help you choose the best virtual data room
- What security features do data rooms offer?
- FAQ
Best virtual data room software:
the complete guide
The virtual data room market is increasingly dynamic, estimated to reach $3.66 billion by 2027.
With new promising solutions appearing every year and good old market leaders remaining in power, it is often difficult to find a solution where rich functionality and transparent pricing meet.
Luckily, we have you covered. We’ve made an in-depth comparison of data room market leaders based on their ratings on trusted review platforms, user comments, and our own experience testing these platforms.
What is a virtual data room?
A virtual data room is a secure online platform for storing and distributing sensitive documents. An online virtual data room is typically used as a corporate repository during the due diligence process for mergers and acquisitions to review, share, and disclose important company documentation.
Also known as a digital data room or electronic data room, this solution serves as an all-in-one collaboration platform replacing traditional cloud storage. Its security features prevent unauthorized access, sharing, copying, and printing of sensitive data. This makes data rooms a vital corporate repository for IPOs and fundraising, real estate management, and more.
Key takeaways:
- Virtual data rooms provider a secure method for storing and sharing documents with multiple parties.
- Online data rooms are frequently used during due diligence and mergers, IPOs and fundraising, real estate management, and other collaborative ventures that require access to shared data.
- Data rooms offer improved security compared to cloud storage. They restrict actions such as copying, printing, and forwarding to maintain the security of the stored information.
Comparison of the top virtual data rooms
| | | | | | | |
| General business information | |||||||
| Headquarters | London, UK | New York, USA | Minneapolis, USA | Seattle, USA | Chicago, USA | Sydney, AU | Los Gatos, USA |
| Top use cases | M&A, Finance, Life sciences and healthcare, Energy, Real estate, Tech | M&A, Finance, Legal | M&A, IPO, Capital raising, Healthcare, Real estate | Technology Healthcare, Legal, Real estate | M&A, Healthcare, Real estate, Energy, IPO | M&A, Finance, Investment banking | M&A, Finance, Legal |
| What users appreciate | Excellent support, easy-to-use, encryption and security features | Encryption, data analysis tool, support | Reliable support, comfortable platform | Extra security, ease of use | Compliance, high-quality support, deal management tools | AI prediction tools, user-friendly interface | Document search, zip support |
| Features | |||||||
| Fence view | |||||||
| Granular access permissions | 8 levels | 4 levels | 5 levels | 5 levels | 4 levels | ||
| Dynamic watermarking | |||||||
| Built-in redaction | no | ||||||
| Two-factor authentication | |||||||
| Advanced Q&A | |||||||
| Automatic reports subscription | |||||||
| Detailed audit trail | |||||||
| Auto-notifications about new activity | |||||||
| Custom branding | |||||||
| Pricing details | |||||||
| Free trial | 30 days | 14 days | 14 days | 7 days | |||
| Pricing plans |
| Contact for details | Contact for details |
| Contact for details | Contact for details |
|
| Unlimited users | In the Enterprise plan | N/A | |||||
| Flexible storage | N/A | N/A | N/A | ||||
| Free flash drive(s) | Included in all the plans | 1 for free, additional for $200 | 2 for free, additional for $250 | N/A | 4 for free, extra at€250 | 1 for free, additional for £500 | N/A |
| Support | |||||||
| Live chat | |||||||
| Email support | |||||||
| Phone support | |||||||
| Multilingual support | |||||||
| Dedicated project manager / team | |||||||
| 24/7/365 availability | |||||||
| Our rating | 9.6 | 9.1 | 8.7 | 8.1 | 8.1 | 8 | 7.7 |
| Details | Check price | Learn more | Learn more | Learn more | Learn more | Learn more | Learn more |
On this page:
- Best virtual data room software: the complete guide
- What is a virtual data room?
- Comparison of the top virtual data rooms
- Top 3 providers overview
- Data room market grid report
- Where are virtual data rooms used?
- What are the benefits of data rooms?
- Why should you use a data room?
- 6 steps to help you choose the best virtual data room
- What security features do data rooms offer?
- FAQ
Top 3 providers overview
Because the virtual data room market is saturated, choosing a suitable solution becomes more difficult.
However, luckily, we did all the hard work for you. On our main page, you can find a selection of top virtual data room providers based on their Capterra / G2 / SoftwareAdvice rating, review, and comments.
Now let’s take a closer look at the three best data room providers based on our research results – these are iDeals, Intralinks, and Datasite. Below we’ll compare them against their reputations, user-friendliness, security, document management, support, and pricing.
iDeals
Ease of use
Average 4.1
Customer Support
Average 3.9
Ease of setup
Average 4.2
iDeals has quickly become one of the most promising players in the VDR market since its establishment in 2008. Over the years, it won the trust of over a million professionals from 175,000 global companies and became especially popular among enterprises. iDeals has some of the highest customers’ evaluation across all trusted review platforms, which makes it a TOP choice on our list.
Ease of use
We’ve tested the functionality of several providers and consider iDeals to be one of the easiest to use and set up — and so do iDeals customers.
- As Capterra’s Top 2023 Performer, iDeals is known for its user-friendly interface, cited as the #1 reason for switching to this product from other vendors.
- Customers especially praise the easy deployment, taking in average 15 minutes to set up a new project. Additionally, customers positively review iDeals’ secure file viewer, which enables formulas in Excel, document classification with tags and labels, audit trail, and other features that facilitate secure data management.
Security
While iDeals shares the same high-level security features as some other providers on the market, it also offers a unique secure viewer for Excel files enabling conversion-free view of spreadsheets with formulas. Additionally, iDeals’ advanced security settings have garnered high praise from users, particularly its 8 levels of granular access permissions, which far exceeds the standard offered by most virtual data rooms.
Document management
In terms of document management, iDeals gets a 5/5 user rating.
- What customers appreciate most is its scroll-through viewer allowing the user to instantly move from one document to another and audit trails generating timestamps of activity on who and when collaborated with documents.
- Additionally, users praise iDeals’ automatic watermarking and IRM (Information Rights Management), which allows downloading documents from the data room in their original format, retaining the document’s printing and copying restrictions.
Support
Expert customer support, available 24/7/365, is what truly makes iDeals stand out. Agents are available via live chat, email, and phone.
- Their response time in chat is about 30 seconds.
- They offer dedicated project managers for each project and have a product knowledge base readily available for prospects and customers in the Help Center.
- Best of all, support agents speak over 10 languages and serve as an extension of the in-house deal team.
- Customers note that iDeals support is ‘first-class’ and one of the reasons to use this product for a long period of time. Not only do support agents help to solve customer requests, but they take notes on what could be improved in the product.
Pricing
iDeals has a transparent quote-based pricing model with no hidden fees; therefore, specific plan pricing is unavailable.
- Because iDeals does not charge per user, it is a favorable option among larger companies and enterprises.
- Customers also indicate that its pricing is more attractive than competitors and offers the same functionality for a lower price.
- iDeals has three pricing plans — Pro, Business, and Enterprise. 24/7 support, two-factor authentication, audit trails, remote shred, and branding are offered for all packages at no extra charge.
- They also offer a free 30-day trial for testing the data room — this allows for quality preparing all the documentation for a particular project which, in turn, then smoothly gets absorbed into the real project room when the trial ends.
Intralinks
Ease of use
Average 4.1
Customer Support
Average 3.9
Ease of setup
Average 4.2
Ease of use
Average 4.1
Customer Support
Average 3.9
Ease of setup
Average 4.2
Established in 1996, Intralinks became a valuable market player and gained the reputation of a safe platform helping businesses exchange information. Today it helps to facilitate more than 6,000 deals annually.
Ease of use
Compared to iDeals, Intralinks has a more outdated software design. Users note that Intralinks has weak version control and collaboration tools. On the positive side, Intralinks’ audit trail functionality and drag-n-drop features receive mostly positive feedback from users.
Security
Intralinks functions similarly to iDeals, however, it lacks subsequent customer feedback on specific security features. Some users praise Intralinks’ security settings that enable controlled sharing of sensitive information, however, there are no comments on other features.
Document management
Intralinks has a helpful reporting feature that users praise the most. Customers mention that Intralinks allows generating reports containing each document ID and time and date of upload, which makes maintaining control of new documents much easier.
Support
Intralinks offers multi-channel support via email, phone, and live chat — and it is also available 24/7. However, there’s not enough feedback to make conclusions about its specific advantages or disadvantages.
Pricing
- A free demo can be requested to navigate through Intralinks’ features. However, no free trial is available.
- Intralinks includes 24/7 multilingual support, 16 access permissions, desktop and mobile access to the data room, and Q&A workflows.
Datasite
Ease of use
Average 4.1
Customer Support
Average 3.9
Ease of setup
Average 4.2
Ease of use
Average 4.1
Customer Support
Average 3.9
Ease of setup
Average 4.2
Ease of use
Average 4.1
Customer Support
Average 3.9
Ease of setup
Average 4.2
Founded in 1999, Datasite became a recognized name in the industry, helping clients from over 170 countries close multi-billion deals.
Ease of use
- Datasite has received positive customer feedback regarding its access controls, audit trails, file classification with tags and labels, multi-format file viewer, and overall data storage management.
- Despite the overall positive customer feedback about Datasite’s interface, some users reported switching from Datasite to iDeals because of the latter’s better user experience.
Security
The position of Datasite is somewhat similar to Intralinks’, as while the vendor has a great and rich security functionality in all security aspects, there are not enough customer reviews to draw conclusions.
Document management
Among Datasite’s document management features, full-text search with text recognition is cited most by users. Datasite also has daily updates on new documents in the data room, which we found especially convenient.
Support
Datasite has few mentions about its customer support, and they are mostly positive. Users mention that Datasite’s support is expert-level and technical, and the staff knows how to solve any problem without any additional charge. The support is available 24/7 via phone, email, and chat.
Pricing
Similarly to other providers, Datasite has a quote-based pricing model. Contact a Datasite sales representative for a custom quote or free demo. No free trial is available.
Data room market grid report
Our team collects accurate and relevant data from G2, Capterra, Software Advice, GetApp, and other review platforms and analyze the market presence, user experience, features, prices, and other metrics to map VDR vendors on the grid. We regularly updates its evaluations, adding new VDR providers and recalculating metrics for the existing ones based on new data.
On this page:
- Best virtual data room software: the complete guide
- What is a virtual data room?
- Comparison of the top virtual data rooms
- Top 3 providers overview
- Data room market grid report
- Where are virtual data rooms used?
- What are the benefits of data rooms?
- Why should you use a data room?
- 6 steps to help you choose the best virtual data room
- What security features do data rooms offer?
- FAQ
Where are virtual data rooms used?
While data rooms remain a popular choice among small, medium, and large businesses across many industries worldwide, certain use cases are the most common in the data room industry. Let’s take a closer look at them below.
M&A
With 2023 estimated to be a year of economic recession after the geopolitical and macroeconomic fluctuations of 2022, M&A activity is projected to grow as well. With multiple financial transactions, tighter deadlines, and increased compliance needs, both buy-side and sell-side companies face many complexities in the process of M&A.
M&A is among the most common use cases of data rooms, and that’s for a good reason. For example, VDR solutions not only provide a secure environment for teams to manage documents for regulatory review but also enhance efficiency by enabling real-time monitoring of all activities. Best of all, data rooms enable multi-project management, which makes them especially favorable among sellers seeking multiple ways of corporate development.
Due diligence
Virtual data room solutions streamline the M&A due diligence process by combining cloud storage and collaboration tools into one platform. Sellers can securely share documents, while setting granular access permissions for controlled access to sensitive information. On the other hand, buyers can communicate with sellers via annotations and messages, review documents, locate the necessary data via full-text search, and get real-time updates regarding any new data room activity.
Due diligence encompasses various aspects of a company, including financial, human resources, environmental, employee, customer, technology, intellectual property, administrative, legal, and strategic fit evaluations. As such, data rooms make all aspects of due diligence easier.
Fundraising
When preparing for an initial public offering or other types of fundraising, companies can use virtual data rooms to securely share confidential information with potential investors. During their decision-making, investors can access files, ask questions, and upload their information.
The virtual data room also gives startups and small companies looking for investments the ability to track user activity. Companies can create reports using custom filters to focus on which documents were viewed, for example, how much time was spent reviewing each document, and how frequently each file or folder was accessed. This allows startups to gain insight into buyer engagement and assess the effectiveness of their capital-raising efforts.
Real estate companies
During real estate transactions, a data room can serve as a centralized repository for real estate documents, including contracts, title reports, environmental reports, and property surveys, allowing all parties involved to access and review the information in real time. This ensures secure and controlled access to sensitive information while also significantly saving time.
Investment banking
During IPOs, capital raising, and M&A processes, significant amounts of information sharing are required, which makes virtual data rooms an ideal solution for investment bankers. With data rooms, they can easily manage and track access to sensitive information with regulators, potential buyers, investors, and other parties, while making sure it stays secure.
Startups
Virtual data rooms can benefit startups with their communication with potential investors. Additionally, startups can track investor activity and engagement by using VDRs to monitor the time spent reviewing company documents and identifying which documents receive the most attention.
What are the benefits of data rooms?
- Document management
- User management
- Ease of use
- Communication
- Security
Document management
Data rooms offer rich functionality for document management – from convenient drag-n-drop upload and bulk upload to auto-indexing, full-text search, and easy file navigation and management with a range of advanced filters and labels:
- Drag-n-drop upload allows you to populate a newly opened data room in one click. Users can simply drag files or folders into the data room’s upload window. The best part? The process is fully integrated, and thus, no plugins are required. Users can also upload files in bulk.
- Auto-indexing. Once the data is populated, it gets automatically indexed by a data room. It reduces time and makes manual data organization needless.
- Full-text search. Users can easily locate the data they need by using combinations of keywords and search tags, labels, and filters. Some data rooms also have OCR (optical character recognition) technology that can search for a word or phrase in any document in a data room.
User management
In terms of user management, virtual data rooms offer customizable levels of access, bulk email invitations, in-app auto-notifications, and more:
- Customizable user access levels. Admins can establish detailed user permissions to improve data room integrity and create easily trackable audit records.
- Bulk email invitations. Data room users can be invited individually or in bulk with the help of custom email invites. When inviting new users, admins can set access permissions, sign-in security options, configurations of access to the Q&A section, and the frequency of new document upload notifications.
- Efficient notifications. Data room users can customize the frequency and the way of receiving auto-notifications about new activity.
Ease of use
To ensure unprecedented ease of access and use, virtual data rooms commonly offer simple login procedures via single sign-on (SSO), scroll-through documents view, and plugin-free work with documents — all in an intuitive, usually multilingual interface:
- Plugin-free work with documents. With this feature and multi-format support, users can effortlessly view and sometimes even edit online documents in their original format. Some of the best data rooms don’t require any installation of third-party plugins.
- Log in via single sign-on (SSO). With this feature, users can easily log in to the data room through their corporate account used across all projects. Not only does this procedure make login more secure but it also makes it easier, eliminating the need to remember multiple login credentials.
- Scroll-through view. While this feature is not offered by all data rooms, it allows users to easily navigate through hundreds of files, moving from one document to the next with only a few clicks.
Furthermore, modern data rooms support various operating systems, having custom solutions for many devices and operating systems.
Communication
In terms of communication, data rooms play a crucial role while centralizing it in one secure environment. Data room users can conveniently communicate and collaborate via the Q&A system:
- Advanced Q&A roles. Many data rooms have advanced roles for Q&A users, enabling them to ask questions, post answers, and get them approved. The entire process is recorded and encrypted, and thus fully secure.
- Numerous communication points. Q&A users can make the answering process more efficient by submitting answers with accompanying annotations, making references to certain data room files, and even attaching documents to their questions or answers. On top of that, answer contributors can often communicate in private, with the discussion being available only to users with a proper level of access.
- Expert assignment. As one of the most valuable features of Q&A, it certainly deserves special attention. It allows assigning experts to certain topics (e.g., law, finance, human resources) while, therefore, increasing the relevance and quality of answers. The assignment process is, in most cases, completely automatic.
Security
As mentioned before, security is among the most powerful advantages of data rooms for corporate use. Every data room has a set of powerful features on the operational, access security, and document security level, ensuring full-cycle data protection. Here’s how:
- Operational level. On this level, data rooms employ at-rest and in-transit multi-layered encryption, comply with global security standards, develop disaster recovery and prevention plans, and ensure the physical security of data centers.
- Access security. On this level, data rooms offer protection from unauthorized access through single sign-on and multi-factor authentication, as well as granular permissions and IP- or time-based restrictions.
- Document security. On the document security level, data rooms have various document access controls, including fence view, redaction, remote wipe, and remote shred. Additionally, they feature digital watermarks and detailed audit trails.
On this page:
- Best virtual data room software: the complete guide
- What is a virtual data room?
- Comparison of the top virtual data rooms
- Top 3 providers overview
- Data room market grid report
- Where are virtual data rooms used?
- What are the benefits of data rooms?
- Why should you use a data room?
- 6 steps to help you choose the best virtual data room
- What security features do data rooms offer?
- FAQ
Why should you use a data room?
Now let’s summarize the key points above and figure out what makes the use of a virtual data room essential:
- A virtual data room is a secure platform for storing and exchanging confidential documents. It is quickly replacing physical data rooms and regular cloud storage solutions, becoming a reliable choice for corporate use.
- The virtual data rooms are now used in technology, private equity, investment banking, legal, real estate, and some other sectors.
- The most common use cases of virtual data rooms include M&A, due diligence, fundraising, legal document management, regulatory risk management, and secure file sharing.
- Unlike their physical counterparts, virtual data rooms offer flexible document and user management, as well as around-the-clock availability, communication, and ease of use. They are also considered more secure and cost-efficient than physical storage.
- When selecting a virtual data room, it is important to consider pricing plans and the value offered in each, as well as free trial availability.
- We’ve done our part and compared the most experienced VDR providers against their reputation, ease of use, security, document management, support, and pricing.
- We consider iDeals, Intralinks, and Datasite to be the best virtual data rooms on the market. However, we invite you to visit our main page to draw your own conclusions.
6 steps to help you choose the best virtual data room
Considering the abundance of products in the current virtual data room market, the best solution is to follow a decision-making framework. Here are the steps to follow when looking for a fitting secure data room:
Allocate The Data
Room Budget
Data room services cost differently depending on the user’s company size, project type, and the VDR provider’s price formation policies. The best idea is to look at past clients of data room providers to estimate the approximate budget.
Identify Available
Providers
The next step is to gather a list of available, secure data room providers based on the price, regions of operation, and market expertise. Shortlisting the best data room providers for your company will include checking websites and examining relevant feedback.
Outline The Required
Features
Different use cases call for specific virtual data room features. The crucial aspect here is to define the data room services and tools that will bring value to a specific project. When you complete this step, you should have a list of necessary features – which you will use in the next step to compare virtual data rooms.
Compare
Datarooms
The next stage is to compare your shortlisted data room options using the criteria you decided on in the step above. By drawing up a virtual data room comparison table, you will quickly find out which providers can fully answer your business needs. Picking two or three data room providers out of these should be enough.
Contact The Data
Room Providers
Once the target virtual data room companies are identified, it’s time to reach out to the support teams of the different providers to ask questions about their VDR services, estimate the project’s cost, and address any other concerns.
Request A Virtual
Data Room Demo
A data room demo can help make a more hands-on decision. And if a virtual data room offers a free trial period, you can sign up for trials with one or two providers. This will help you check which one is the best virtual data room for you, and you can also use the trial period to prepare the data room of your choice for future operations.
What security features do data rooms offer?
- Security certifications
- Infrastructure security
- Access security
- Document security
Security certifications
- ISO 27001. ISO 27001 is a comprehensive information security management system (ISMS) standard covering all aspects of information security, including the management of assets, access controls, encryption, and incident management.
- ISO 27081. It is a specific standard for virtual data rooms, focusing on the specific security requirements for VDR tools, including data privacy and protection, secure document transfer, and secure access to information.
- SOC 1. SOC 1 is designed for service organizations that provide services that impact the financial statements of their clients, such as payroll processing, financial reporting, and accounting services. SOC 1 focuses on the internal controls related to financial reporting, including security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy.
- SOC 2. SOC 2 focuses on the controls that impact the security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy of a service organization’s systems and the data processed by those systems.
- SOC 2. SOC 2 focuses on the controls that impact the security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy of a service organization’s systems and the data processed by those systems.
- SOC 3. SOC 3 is a public version of a SOC 2 report, with some information removed that could be considered confidential. The SOC 3 report provides an overview of the SOC 2 controls and results but is intended for general use and can be distributed to customers and other stakeholders.
- GDPR. The General Data Protection Regulation is a comprehensive data privacy regulation that sets out strict rules for safe information exchange in terms of how personal data must be collected, processed, and stored by organizations operating within and outside the EU. It applies to all types of sensitive data, including names, addresses, emails, and financial information, among others.
Infrastructure security
- Physical data security. To ensure a fully secure environment, physical and virtual, data rooms employ advanced physical security measures, which include 24/7 video surveillance, restricted access policies, and secure storage facilities that have access to backup power.
- Disaster recovery measures. Geographically dispersed data centers and contingency plans for worst-case scenarios, such as fires or floods, ensure that data remains accessible and unaffected in the event of an emergency.
- Encryption at rest and in transit. For reliable file protection, most data rooms employ 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) for data at rest and in transit. This standard is considered the most reliable.
Access security
- Two-factor authentication. An extra layer adds security through two-factor authentication, which requires a password and a unique code sent to your authorized mobile device. The code is only valid for one session and expires after a short period.
- Convenient Single sign-on (SSO). Some data rooms allow a simple sign-in procedure with a single corporate account to access all of the projects users are involved in.
- Granular permissions. Admins have the ability to specify access privileges for each user or group of users, which makes it easy to assign roles and limit access to some sensitive documents or sections.
- Time- and IP-based restrictions. Data room admins have the ability to limit login attempts from specific IP addresses, set policies for session duration, and control the expiration date for file access.
- Detailed logging and reporting. For better insights, each virtual data room keeps a comprehensive audit trail of all actions. Admins can easily review all user activity at any time.
Document security
- Granular access permissions. Data room administrators can enable secure file sharing by enabling role-based permissions. Access rights can be set for uploading, downloading, viewing, restricted viewing, uploading, printing, and more.
- Fence view. A barrier on the screen helps prevent unwanted screen printing, screen captures, or unauthorized viewing, thus avoiding the risk of data leaks.
- Remote data wipe. Data room admins can remotely lock and erase encrypted data from a lost or stolen device.
- Remote shred. Admins can set a time limit for the availability of certain data. This way, access rights to files can be revoked, even after they have been downloaded.
- Dynamic watermarks. This feature helps to control access to confidential information by putting a person’s name, IP address, date and time of access on each file. This can help track user interaction with documents and identify the source of a potential security breach.
FAQ
What is a data room?
A virtual data room (VDR) is a cloud solution where companies can securely store and share confidential business information.
Why do you need a data room?
Deal makers need data rooms for secure and effective storage, distribution, and management of confidential data. The most common use cases are mergers and acquisitions, fundraising, IPOs, tenders, and legal proceedings.
Are data rooms expensive?
Data room pricing varies widely, starting from $0.40-$0.85 per page and ending with thousands of dollars for a yearly subscription. The final cost depends on the data storage volume, number of VDR users and administrators, document management tools, security features, client support, etc.
Are data rooms a good investment?
Yes, a data room is a good investment because it provides users with the necessary tools for secure and comfortable management of all kinds of business deals and gives full control over confidential information. Besides, a virtual data room is more secure than free cloud storage and less expensive than physical data rooms.
What should a data room look like?
A data room looks similar to cloud storage platforms like Google Drive or Dropbox. It usually has several tabs, such as documents, users, Q&A, or reports. There’s also a list of folders and a list of documents. For users’ convenience, there are search filters too. A data room’s interface should be intuitive and user-friendly.