What is a Virtual Data Room (VDR)?
A Virtual Data Room (commonly referred to as a VDR) is effectively an extranet that provides an online data repository. Many businesses use a secure VDR to share vital and often sensitive information with external partners and clients using a secure online platform. A virtual data room is a place where people can view or share confidential information. This information needs to be secured so that only authorised people get access to it, and as a result it’s important to select a data room that has been tried and tested by firms worldwide whether you’re looking to use a VDR for an M&A deal, secure collaboration, licensing clinical studies or sharing sensitive mining data. It’s crucial that a VDR provider provides secure services to prevent this information falling into the wrong hands.
You should keep the following in mind when choosing a VDR provider:
Security
The security of your information should be your main priority. A VDR provider should be able to handle all security threats from hackers to viruses. It’s important to consider factors including the safety/uptime of servers, early detection of intruders, virus scanning and firewalls (ideally a hardware firewall should be in place). The VDR should also offer customisable security settings for users including granular file/folder permissions and document protection. For even better security, consider a provider that provides you with the option for your own private cloud or even on premise hosting so if one client is compromised, you are still protected. For businesses based in the EU (or businesses handling EU citizen’s data), be sure that your provider has a clear stance on GDPR and that they’re ISO27001 accredited. For organisations outside of the EU, you should look for SAS Level 2 compliance.
Customer Service/Support
Customer service is equally important when choosing a VDR. You are likely to have questions or require support whilst using your VDR and it’s important that the provider has a team of well trained, educated and approachable staff who are ready and willing to assist you quickly with any problems or questions you might have. It’s important that good quality support is provided to help you every step of the way.
Flexibility and ease of use
A VDR should give you the flexibility to work the way you want, wherever you want. Whether it be custom branding or adding features to the data room like Q&A, Wiki’s, blog posts & calendars. The platform should also be accessible from mobile, desktop and tablet devices. User experience should also be considered, there is nothing worst than users having a bad experience with the data room as it doesn’t look particularly good for any of the parties involved. The data room should be easy to use without complex training.
If you’re already using an alternative provider, and would like to discuss how Projectfusion could fit in with your requirements, schedule a call with us here.
