How to distinguish a virtual data room from others? That is a tough question to answer when there are over one hundred virtual data room (VDR) software providers operating globally, not to mention the local vendors.
Virtual data rooms’ primary function is to allow businesses, organizations, professionals, and governments to safely distribute, share, exchange, or save important information. Therefore, security is one of the most important elements of data room software.
What else does online data room software do? In the text to follow, you can learn about virtual data rooms, things to consider when choosing a VDR, and a review of the best data room providers.
Electronic data room defined
Electronic data room software or virtual data room can be defined as a highly safe, fully controlled, online document repository for companies, firms, boards of directors, charitable organizations, clubs, government institutes, and other types of business entities.
One of the worth-mentioning things about electronic data rooms is that they minimize the need for plugins or external applications for data or communication management. That’s because data rooms have built-in tools for file viewing, file editing, meeting management, online communication, deal management, etc.
It is no wonder that data room technology has penetrated the dealmaking processes such as M&As, joint ventures, conglomerates, fundraising, initial public offers, and real estate trades.
How can you choose the best data room software for your company?
The best VDR is the one that helps you achieve your goals attached to it. It is highly possible that even well-reputed data room software may not be good enough for your business. Here are important things to keep in mind when you compare virtual data rooms.
1. Set your objectives. Define the needs and objectives that you want to fulfill through a VDR. Using a data room just for the sake of it is not a wise investment. Make sure that a data room will positively affect your business workflow.
2. Define your budget limitations. Set your budget and look for the pricing models that will suit your usage, and make sure there are no hidden charges. Common pricing methods include per-page pricing, flat-monthly fee model, and usage-based pricing.
3. Decide on the features required. Identify the features you need in your VDR; this depends on what you are using a data room for. Still, don’t forget to do your research on security and usability features like digital watermarks, two-step verification, document access control, secure file viewer, file editor, 256-bit data encryption, etc.
4. Check out software review websites. Consult trusted websites like dataroom.org, Capterra, G2, TrustRadius, and Software Advice to read customer reviews.
5. Request and test free trials. Last but not least, always prefer data room vendors that give free trials.
Top 5 virtual data room services
Based on the points made above, here are some of the best virtual data room providers operating globally.
1. iDeals virtual data rooms
It is impossible to make a list of top global-scale data room vendors without including iDeals. The company holds an irreplaceable position in the data room market. iDeals virtual data rooms are easily distinguishable because of their unmatched security and highly unique customer support service. iDeals is the only data room with 8 layers of security.
Moreover, iDeals data rooms can be deployed on Windows, Linux, Mac, iPad, Android, and the web. iDeals VDRs are available in more than 10 different languages — an unbeaten feature for iDeals. Last but not least, these VDRs are suitable for dealmaking, data management, board communication, licensing, and much more.
2. DealRoom
DealRoom is amongst the few niche-oriented data room services. DealRoom is mostly known for serving private equities, investors, and financial institutions for M&As, fundraising, due diligence, and similar processes.
Apart from that, DealRoom boasts very rare data room features like pipeline management, post-merger integration, Q/A for due diligence, progress tracking, and project management.
However, DealRoom may not be suitable for companies seeking cross-platform deployment, as the solution only supports web-based deployment.
3. Firmex data rooms
Firmex data rooms are more like DealRoom, commonly used in due diligence, compliance, and other transactions of similar nature. Firmex is a popular name in the M&A community, and over 20,000 Firmex data rooms are opened every year.
Firmex, just like iDeals, has a robust customer support service, and the company boasts certifications like HIPAA, GDPR, and SOC2.
4. SecureDocs data room
A small or medium business that needs a highly affordable, simple, and easy-to-install data room may consider SecureDocs as a reliable option.
The setup process hardly takes 10 minutes, and SecureDocs can manage small/medium-scale due diligence, mergers, acquisitions, and fundraising. Their basic package starts from $250 a month, which is very adorable for SMBs.
5. Digify
Digify is another secure and affordable virtual data room that mainly suits the needs of small and medium-scale organizations.
Despite being highly affordable, Digify data rooms have all the necessary security features like digital watermarking, two-step verification, file tracking, and permissions management. The company serves clients in 138 countries and is ISO27001-certified.
Wrapping up
So, that was our quick introduction to virtual data rooms and some of the best data room vendors on the market. While the options above are definitely worth your choice, we recommend you to conduct an independent review and comparison for making an optimal choice of a solution.
