Virtual data rooms are a true revolution in the field of digital data management. VDR technology has allowed businesses and professionals to move and store data more efficiently and protectively.
What’s more, the global virtual data room market has already hit the $1 billion dollar figure, and unprecedented growth is expected in the years to come. Experts have projected that it will cross the $3 billion figure by 2026.
What exactly is virtual data room software? What are its uses, and why is it necessary for modern-day businesses? Here is everything you need to know about online data room software.
What Is a Virtual Data Room?
A virtual or electronic data room software is a digital document repository where you can safely store, move, share, exchange, or distribute corporate data. It is a complete cloud-based data management platform for commercial businesses, nonprofit organizations, government or public institutions, executives, service providers, and professionals.
However, VDRs are not only document management tools — they are a complete business solution. That said, businesses can use them for end-to-end online communication, task management, project management, and dealmaking. Virtual data rooms either have built-in communication tools or allow third-party integrations.
Also Read: Understanding the Pricing of Virtual Data Rooms
Who Can Use Virtual Data Room Software?
One of the greatest features of a virtual data room is its effectiveness in every business type or size. What’s more, virtual data room providers nowadays target specific industries and businesses to make their services more effective and to the point.
The following industries are notable users of data room technology:
- Financial institutions such as banks, insurance companies, financial service providers, and credit card companies. Dealmakers use VDRs for M&A, IPOs, crowdfunding, capital raising, due diligence, asset management, and risk management.
- Telecommunication sector
- Information Technology (IT) industry
- Life sciences and healthcare sector — hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, R&D companies, medical professionals
- Legal industry
- Corporate sector
- Oil and energy sector
- Nonprofit organizations
- Public institutions
Apart from that, investors, board members, union leaders, executives, and managers also use virtual data rooms. It is important to note that the range of features offered by a particular vendor may differ depending on its target users.
For example, investors should compare virtual data rooms looking particularly for the features that target their needs. Investors can check out this data room for investors checklist to make sure they have everything they need from a VDR when conducting a data room comparison.
What Benefits Does a Data Center Provide for an Organization?
As data room software is a multi-purpose solution, it helps your business in numerous ways. Here are some of them.
1. Flawless data protection
As an entrepreneur or business owner, protecting your sensitive business data might be the biggest challenge for you. Going digital has become mandatory for modern-day businesses, which also creates risks of data breaches and theft.
Virtual data rooms take data protection to the next level. In fact, data rooms like iDeals employ eight different security layers to kill any chances of data breaches. Standard virtual data rooms are at least ISO-certified. What’s more, high-quality VDRs also strictly comply with data management and cybersecurity practices set by FINRA, FISMA, GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC.
Data rooms boast unique and latest security features like multi-factor authorization, remote document shredding, barred document viewing (fence view), 256-bit SSL data encryption, and document access control.
2. Better data management
Virtual data rooms have every feature needed to manage, store, share, or edit documents. You can upload or share hundreds of files in one go with the bulk upload feature. Auto indexing feature indexes every document uploaded in the VDR.
Data rooms have built-in document or Excel file viewers. VDRs like iDeals automatically convert files into PDF format for better viewability. You can categorize your data into folders and subfolders and move/share them collectively. Also, you can edit, annotate, and update any document in real-time.
3. Remote data access
An electronic data room provides the luxury of accessing your business data anywhere and anytime. As VDR is a cloud technology, the software is remotely accessible. What’s more, data room providers allow mobile access to the VDRs — all you need is a tablet or smartphone and a stable internet connection.
4. End-to-end, safer communication
Generally, virtual data rooms have built-in communication tools, or you can integrate third-party apps for that purpose. VDRs allow one-to-one communication, group conversations, audio and video meetings/conferences, and Q&A sessions.
When it comes to online meetings, many data rooms have a complete range of meeting management tools such as agenda builder, voting tools, task manager, electronic signatures, and meeting minutes builder.
5. Reduced administrative expenses
Being a paperless data management solution, virtual data room software reduces major administrative expenses. Accessing and sharing digital versions of documents minimizes the need for paper documents, ultimately decreasing paper, printing, compilation, and distribution costs.
See Also: Top Considerations When Selecting a Virtual Data Room
Conclusion
Data rooms stand as a powerful tool for the modern business landscape, playing a crucial role in facilitating secure data sharing and collaboration. Their purpose extends beyond mere storage, offering businesses the ability to manage sensitive information, ensure compliance, and conduct due diligence in M&A transactions with confidence.
The key benefits of data rooms, including enhanced security, efficiency, and transparency, underscore their value in an increasingly digital and data-driven world. As we move forward, the adoption of data rooms is likely to grow, driven by businesses seeking to gain a competitive edge and safeguard their most valuable asset: information.
By harnessing the capabilities of data rooms, organizations can navigate complex transactions and collaborations more effectively, leading to better business outcomes.
