Features to Look For in Secure Data Rooms

Secure data rooms are the most secure way to share high-risk documents. These virtual spaces are used to store and manage sensitive data during M&A transactions, IPOs and other sensitive business deals.

In contrast to the old-fashioned filing cabinet system secure data rooms allow multiple parties to examine the same due diligence file simultaneously and without making copies that can be easily shared with others which is a common security risk. Luckily, today’s VDRs can prevent this with robust encryption of data in transit and at rest, customizable watermarking that blocks unwanted duplicates or sharing and reports on user activity that allow users to determine who is accessing which files.

Beyond the basic functions, look for an encrypted data room that can streamline the due diligence process and ensure conformity with regulations and standards. For example a secure data room should have clear and easy-to-understand folder structures that reflect the specific transaction and provide well-labeled documents and subfolders to make it simple for users to locate what they’re searching for.

Another useful feature is a search feature that can detect complete and partial matches. Some providers also support full-text search using optical character recognition for PDFs as well as images and filters for narrowing results based on file type and status, viewing activity, and more. Find a secure messaging tool that allows teams to collaborate in real-time. This can be particularly useful for M&A transactions, in which many teams might require discussion of the project and virtual data rooms its results in detail.