Secure Virtual Data Room for M&A Deals

M&A deals are usually quite overwhelming for the participants as such transactions can bury them in paperwork. This slow and frequently unmanageable task depends a lot on human errors, wastes valuable company time, and can even disrupt the deal. However, virtual data rooms (VDRs for short) specifically designed for mergers and acquisitions can allow stakeholders to work more collaboratively, cost- and time-efficiently during the transaction process. Due to this, more and more M&A practitioners are using online data room software to manage deals. 

What is a Virtual Data Room?

During M&A transactions, specifically due diligence, all the participants need a place to store, exchange, and share company files. Data room software gives everyone involved in the deal a secure storage place to request, share, and organize sensitive information. VDRs enable collaboration and provide a whole host of features that help speed up due diligence and streamline workflows.

How Are VDRs Useful?

Specifically for M&A, data room services are useful since they:

1. Allow stakeholders from various parts of the world to easily cooperate – Thanks to VDR technologies, there is a two-way flow of information between parties, that leads to enhanced communication and data transparency. This also implies there is centralized info storage rather than all the files being in multiple Excel spreadsheets, emails, Google Docs, etc. 
2. Allow users to safely manage data – All the files ranging from accounting reports to employee information can be kept in a safe space with the necessity of two-step authentication. The data is encrypted and fully controlled by the room’s organizer. Thus, documents can be shared as “view only” or restricted for view at all. Finally, the secure data rooms have ISO 27081 compliance so you can be sure your data is fully protected.
3. Eliminate extra work – Well-developed VDRs, as a rule, allow users to simplify workflow through special features like drag-and-drop upload, automatic elimination of duplicate requests, searches by keywords, as well as the ability of task assignment, one-click reporting, and more.
4. Reduce the number of human errors – The electronic data room functionality allows to curtail hazardous deal distractions for overworked management teams.
5. Ensure easy file analysis and organization – VDRs usually apply AI for M&A deals in order to analyze and organize documents better. Such a feature improves workflow and also enables the ability to adapt to changes and possibly new information throughout due diligence. Apart from that, artificial intelligence allows Mergers and Acquisitions participants to collect valuable data that can offer business benefits in the future.
6. Perform a review of the entire M&A process – Some top-notch virtual deal rooms provide a general report of the entire process and update the overview on a regular basis. Such reporting is very useful in terms of analyzing the buyer’s engagement, observing and taking into consideration what team members are spending the most amount of time on, identifying and timely addressing potential problems, and tracking overall progress.

Let’s Compare Virtual Data Rooms

To sum up the review, it is worth taking a closer look at one of the best data room providers in the field of M&A deals.

VDR Provider	Ideals Virtual Data Room	Ansarada	idgard	Firmex Virtual Data Room
Criteria
Location	UK	Australia	Germany	Canada
Pricing (per month)	N/A*	$39	$15	N/A
Free trial period	+	+	+	+
The best application	VDR is suitable for start-ups and businesses of 1-1,000+ users; is frequently used by banks, lawyers, and enterprises	It’s designed for the small business sector (1-500 users)	The software can be applied for taxing, financial advice, health care, IT providers, public administration, and more	VDR supports M&A due diligence, litigation, compliance, audits; is perfect for companies with 1-1,000+ users
Pros	– access control – file categorization and classification – bankruptcy case management – around-the-clock support – the ability to work with several documents at a time	– convenient management of stored data – high-level security – great audit history – the availability of redaction (editing) tools	– availability of collaboration tools – file categorization and classification – multi-level access control	– great customer service – user-friendly interface – well-developed functionality and navigation – multiple deal organization – a broad training program
Cons	– inconsistent access permissions – the absence of a forum and the FAQ section	– confusing navigation – deployment with clouds, SaaS, online sites only – no live chat support	– deployment with the mobile version, clouds, SaaS, online sites only	– no live chat support

* The information is provided for registered users and potential clients only