Often companies are so focused on growth and scaling that simple business functions like document collection and management are overlooked. But when it comes to saving time, a protracted due diligence process is not the best option.
About Virtual Data Room
The Data Room is an online repository for all the documents needed for the due diligence process. Typically, a business needs an online data room software when raising capital, selling a company, entering into strategic partnerships, litigation, going public, etc. Effective data rooms provide transparency and a complete picture of any given business to the other party. Data rooms also find use outside of the due diligence process, for example, providing minimal hiccups if there is a change in management due to illness or litigation.
Potential Data Room Contents
The content of a data room depends on the industry and the stage of development of the company. The categories below generally define the content of any data room.
- Corporate documents
- Shareholder or securities information
- Employee and management data
- Sales and marketing efforts
- Documentation of physical assets
- Intellectual property records
- Environmental concerns, compliance, and records
- Financial documents
- Regulatory documents.
A data room software will contain hundreds, if not thousands, of individual documents, many of which must be updated quarterly. The size of your data room can grow in direct correlation to the size of your company and the size of your transactions.
9 Reasons to Use a Data Room
So, how can a data room benefit you and your company?
1. Secure Management of Customer Data
Using a secure, first-class data room will ensure that your customers’ private information is protected.
A data room can help your business grow because customers will feel safe doing business with you.
2. Virtual Data Rooms are affordable
It seemed that only large organizations could afford to maintain a traditional data room. But these days, virtual data rooms are readily available, and they don’t cost that much. The cost of a data room will depend on usage, so if you don’t plan on using it daily, it won’t cost you a penny.
3. Get Deals Faster
You can use VDRs to speed up the upload process, even if you’re uploading large documents in large quantities. So implementing a reputable VDR into your business will allow you to transact quickly and efficiently.
4. Benefits to the Environment
When physical data rooms are often filled with thousands or even millions of files, the environment can be negatively impacted.
Today, when almost everything has gone virtual, the need to make physical copies of data can be avoided. You can store virtual data on VDRs without having to make paper copies. Reducing the number of paper copies will definitely benefit the environment.
5. Security
Technology experts believe that storing sensitive files in the data room is safer than storing them on a company server. The best data room vendors will provide their users with round-the-clock security.
Using a highly secure VDR will provide peace of mind to business owners, employees, partners, and customers.
6. Ease of Use
Most data room services give users plenty of training documentation, online tutorials, and a phone support service.
Some virtual data room providers include a drag-and-drop feature that helps speed up financial transactions and storage of sensitive data.
7. Remote Access
Anyone with permission to access a VDR can receive and view information from anywhere. A state-of-the-art data room allows people to continue to work in a flexible environment.
8. Situation Control
With VDR, you can decide who has access to files, who can edit and upload them. You’ll get notifications when someone makes a copy of data and when someone shares files. There’s also an option to turn off the screenshot feature for extra protection.
If the data does get compromised, you’ll have a better chance of figuring out what went wrong and how to resolve the situation.
9. Customer Feedback
Customers and partners will be able to give you feedback on how you can improve the system and your business.
The Appropriate Time to Create a Data Room
You may want to consider when to create data rooms. However, creating a data room is often a months-long process. Your electronic data room should be completed before any deal or fundraising begins. If you expect the fundraising process to take 6 months, you should generally start creating your data room another 3 months in advance.
By starting small and expanding the vault as needed, you can avoid a lengthy vault-building process that has a high chance of missing something important. You also get the added bonus of being able to view important documents anytime, anywhere.
The benefits of a well-organized data room cannot be underestimated. But if you’re questioning whether your company can benefit from using VDR, why not try a trial first before spending your hard-earned money. Most developers give potential customers a limited trial or a platform demo. Experiment with a few platforms before deciding on a VDR to invest in.
