Important files are a necessity in any industry. People write down crucial details, combine spreadsheets, and create files that are integral to the company’s structure. All of those documents need to be stored somewhere. Up until recently, businesses were using physical data rooms to store their most important company files.
Why should you choose a virtual data room service?
Physical data rooms are not the most secure storage for documents; people often make errors. While managing highly sensitive documents this is bound to happen. Not to mention the additional costs of renting the place and employing the staff it entails.
This is why virtual data rooms were invented. In combination with the latest security advancements, and bank-grade encryption, virtual data room software is the best possible choice for your document storage.
“There are advantages to using this tool despite the industry or the size of the company. Traditional storage and file-sharing programs are limited in capabilities. Background and business-critical needs predictions make digital data room creators the most advanced in technology.” – as illustrated by Dataroom-providers.org in one of their recent blog posts.
But what main features should a virtual data room have, and what are the 10 best data room providers available on the market?
10 things to consider before choosing a virtual data room provider
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1. Who will the Virtual Data Room be for?
Before choosing a virtual data room provider, you need to ask yourself what kinds of use cases the software will have for your company. Are your coworkers technologically literate enough to use this kind of technology, or will it be an additional expense to train them?
Look at what are your current needs, and try to ask yourself questions about storage, budget, and the people that would be allowed to use the new software solution introduced to your company.
2. What would be the main thing you are looking forward to?
Is there a particular feature you would like to have in the virtual data room, that would make the life of the company much more pleasant? Or maybe you want to have fewer features because you wouldn’t like to overpay for the product?
Those are all viable questions that you should ask yourself before choosing a virtual data room.
3. Is money an issue?
Before even checking out the offer of the industry, you would need to look at the balance sheet and ask yourself if there even is enough money to employ this additional software solution into your business dealings.
The price of a virtual data room varies significantly from one provider to another, so it should be possible to find a solution that both fits your needs and doesn’t hurt your budget.
4. Security
As the space is designed to hold the most important files of your business, it should boast incredible security features. Read about the certification that the service has, and what kinds of security management tools are available to you.
5. Permission management
The built-in security features are important to the integrity of a virtual data room, but the ability to decide whether you can allow someone access to particular files adds another layer to your virtual data room defenses. It does not only help in controlling who sees what but also supports sharing the documents with outside parties.
6. Analytics
The amount of time spent working on a file, and many more statistics are available to you in a virtual data room software. Thanks to it being in a completely digital environment, you can keep track of all the little events that are happening in the space.
7. See what is out there
Do some searching around, find what is available to you, and use our list to see the top 10 virtual data room providers in this industry. Look at their descriptions, read through their features, and make a sound decision about the number of tools you will actually use, and the kind of security they employ.
8. Look at what others are saying
Going through comments about the product, and reading reviews is just another step in the process of finding the virtual data room that will satisfy all of your needs. People actually using the product, and telling their perspective on the matter are incredibly important. This illustrates the real-world use cases of the product you might need.
9. Talk to the provider directly
While you might answer most of those questions through your own research, there might be some that can only be answered directly by the provider. To find out if the offer is something that aligns with your business goal, reach out to them directly, and talk about their solution. You will then experience the quality of their support, and how they treat their potential customers. A lot can be figured out from a simple over-the-phone conversation.
10. Use the free trial
Almost all of the virtual data room providers give a free trial to the potential customer. Apart from reading all of the available materials, and talking to customer service, you can gain even more from trying the product out yourself. Check if the provider your business is targeting has this possibility.
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Top 10 virtual data room software options
After you have answered those questions and thought long and hard about what you would like from the virtual data room provider, there are many different software solutions to choose from. A data room comparison is something you need to do before you choose a solution that fits your business needs.
To make your life easier, we have selected the top 10 virtual data room providers to feature on our list.
1. iDeals
The virtual data solution provided by iDeals is aimed at people who want to integrate their workflow into the virtual data room environment. By using multiple management tools available to the clients of the service, they can not only customize the space but also create detailed reports in an accessible software solution interface.
2. Drooms
The highly customizable nature of this virtual data room is reflected in its pricing. The fewer tools you need, the less you pay. Based in Germany, Drooms provides its users with a quality tool at a reasonable cost. If modularity is important for your business, then this would be the perfect virtual data room to consider.
3. Intralinks
If you are looking for a tool that utilizes the newest technology in the virtual data room space, Intralinks is the place where you will find it. Using AI functionality to aid the file management process, this virtual data room provider offers great support with business deals of every kind. And through the use of AI, you will also get a lot of statistical data you would have otherwise missed.
4. Datasite
Deals of every complexity can be solved with the help of the Datasite product. Created by the Merrill Corporation, it ties in with all of the other services that the company provides, like consulting, content management, and everything that could help in the business dealing of a company.
5. Dealroom
Dealroom is one of the more expensive virtual data room solutions. But due to its pricing, the clients can use elaborate tools and tackle every part of an M&A deal. The creators of this virtual data room lead you through the whole process, from start to finish, making sure that all of the files are secure and only accessible to the people that need that access.
6. Digify
Small businesses might not be able to pay the virtual data room plans in the bigger companies. But they could be able to afford Digify’s plan. This solution is a basic virtual room that helps startups, and smaller companies ensure file safety. And if there is a need to share the files with a third party, this is also possible.
7. Ansarada
One of the other virtual data rooms already utilizes AI in their software solution. Through elaborate tools ranging from file management to report creation, Ansarada is able to create an environment for M&A deals to take place. A huge plus of this solution is its accessible interface. It allows even less literate users of this solution to benefit from it.
8. Citrix
Citrix specializes in aiding the already established workflow of a company. With their software solution, it is really easy to manage the flow of files. You can add the necessary security level needed throughout M&A business deals.
9. SecureDocs
Another small company and individual-oriented virtual data room with basic functionality but at an appropriate price. SecureDocs can give you the basic tools for your deals to be concluded in a secure, but also accessible space. Affordability is an important factor in the early stages of the business and SecureDocs is aware of it.
10. Firmex
Firmex is famous for employing special security measures in its virtual data room services. Through their detailed approach to both security and the needs of their clients, they created a software solution that is able to cater to even the most exorbitant business needs.
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Conclusion
Virtual data rooms are tools that help you manage and organize the files that are important to your business operations. In contrast to old, physical data rooms, this virtual environment allows for much more flexibility in the terms of pricing, and an increased security and accessibility factor. Following our list, and checking out the providers will lead you to the solution that your business needs.
Web Developer & SEO Specialist with 15+ years of experience in Open Source Web Development specialized in Joomla & WordPress development. He is also the moderator of this blog "RS Web Solutions".