When it comes to high-end business data protection, there are very few secure channels like virtual data rooms that businesses can trust easily. There is no shortage of free data online data repositories, but they cannot guarantee you the level of protection your business data needs.
Furthermore, virtual data rooms boast an array of multi-purpose features that make them not only secure data repositories but virtual deal rooms and secure working spaces as well.
In fact, modern data room software has features that can make complex processes very simple. Read on to discover more about virtual data rooms, their features, and their benefits.
Table of Contents
What Is An Electronic Data Room?
A virtual data room, or simply data room, is a multi-dimensional cloud-based business software that corporations and businesses use as a data repository, virtual working space, and online deal room.
You can use online data room software to store and manage your business data and its flow within and outside your organization.
With the changing work environment, especially during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, businesses moved to a work-from-home policy. This created a huge demand for secure channels like virtual data rooms, and the business fraternity is all set to use online virtual spaces permanently.
Due to their unbreakable security and ease of use, modern enterprises and corporations are using data rooms to run large-scale transactions like capital investments, stock issuance, auditing, fundraising, initial public offerings, mergers, acquisitions, and real estate transactions.
Top Virtual Data Room Features
1. Document Security Features
- Document access restrictions: File creator or data room administration chooses who can or cannot access, download, print, edit, share or save any document. VDRs allow you to set different access levels for different documents and users.
- Digital watermarks: digital watermarks can be an image, text, video, or audio added by the file creator. It traces the time, date, and name of the user who accessed or edited the file, ultimately helping in avoiding copyright problems.
- 256-bit data encryption: 256-bit is currently the highest standard of data encryption. You can share or upload encrypted versions of documents.
- Self-destructing documents: users or VDR management can revoke document access at any time, with very short notice.
- Fence view: fence view mode provides protection against screenshots, screen recording, and photography of any file or document.
- Virus scanning: modern virtual data rooms have built-in antivirus that scans every document you upload in the VDR and removes possible threats.
- Data backup: Any file or document uploaded in the data room is replicated for backup purposes. That means that even if you mistakenly delete a file from VDR, it can still be retrieved from the backup.
- Granular access: management can give a user access to documents based on their job/role in the company.
2. Data Room Security
- Two-factor authentication: It is an entry checkpoint where a user logs in after entering a password and a one-time code generated temporarily.
- Multiple-step verification: users have to go through multiple processes when they log in from new or unrecognized devices. This helps ensure that the data room or a user’s credentials are not compromised.
- Remote purging: in case a data room user loses his mobile, tablet, or any other device logged in to the data room, the management can immediately remove that device or VDR data in it.
- Audit logs: detailed reports on all virtual data room activities.
3. Document Management
- Bulk upload: you can select multiple files and upload them into your data room simultaneously.
- Drag-n-drop: drag and drop feature allows the users to click on a file and drag it into the VDR to upload it.
- Document viewer: VDRs have built-in document viewers; you don’t have to install external apps for that.
- PDF converter: many data room services provide a PDF converter that automatically converts documents into PDF format.
- Multi-format support: you can upload files in any format. Some of the best data rooms like iDeals support more than 25 file formats.
- Text search: You can find any document in the VDR by name, keyword, or phrase/sentence in the document.
- Search labels: these search tags help you categorize documents to simplify the search process.
4. Advanced Features
- Smart search: it is a unique feature in modern VDRs that shows a snippet of any document before opening it.
- Task management: team or group leaders or the management can assign tasks to different users inside the data room. This keeps the teams organized and informed about their responsibilities.
- Built-in Excel Viewer: you can now open an Excel file within your VDR.
- Slack integration: Slack is one of the most used software for team communication. Modern VDRs are integrable with Slack.
Final Words
As the demand for virtual data rooms grows in the market, vendors are introducing more and more advanced features to take communication, data management, and task management to the next level. Some of the best data rooms include Dealroom, IDeals, Firmex, Merrill, SecureDocs, and a variety of others. Check them out yourself to see which works best for your particular needs.
