6 Things You Need to Know About Your Online Virtual Data Rooms and How to Evaluate Them
The only way to get the best possible product out of multiple options is when you are aware of the features and complexities of that product. For example, when choosing virtual data rooms, it is important to have a decent knowledge of their features, pricing, and other aspects that can help you find the best possible option.
Choosing data room services for your business or personal use should not be a quick or hasty process. That’s because dataroom software vendors can be distinguished in different ways, and not all data rooms have the same features, security level, ease of use, and utility.
If you have had trouble analyzing the effectiveness of the data room software, here are some important things about virtual data rooms and how you can evaluate them.
6 important things you should know about virtual data rooms
1. Security
Security in an electronic data room is and should be the top priority while hiring data room services. That’s because only a secure dataroom can give you the protection you need for your sensitive or private business or personal documents. A secure dataroom must have the following security features.
Certifications
It would be great if a virtual data room vendor has various cybersecurity certifications under its belt. However, don’t go for data room services that are not ISO 27081 and ISO 27001 certified. Other recommended cyber security certifications include SCO2, FINRA, and SSAE 16.
Two-step verification
It is one of the most basic yet very important security features in virtual data rooms. Two-step verification is a great tool for the prevention of unauthorized entries in the data room.
Other recommended security features include remote device purging, NDAs, and scheduled data room access.
2. Document management
You and your data room users will be sharing hundreds and thousands of documents in the future. So, having the ability to control the data flow in your VDR is necessary. Here are some mandatory document management features to look for in the dataroom.
Document access control
The administrator in the data room should be able to control which users should or shouldn’t be allowed to access specified documents, folders, or data room sections. In fact, it should not be just about accessing the documents; the management must be able to control who can or cannot edit, alter, overwrite, print, or download documents.
Bulk uploads and drag-n-drop
A business, even a small one, deals with hundreds of documents on a daily or weekly basis. You surely don’t want your data room users to upload files one by one. Therefore, look out for the bulk file upload feature. If your data room gives you the drag-n-drop option, it would be a plus.
Other useful document management features include fence view or read-only mode, remote document shredding, and document access revocation.
3. Ease of use
A virtual data room is designed to make things easier for you; if a data room is giving you a tough time, it is not worth investing in. But how can data room software give you a hard time?
Data room software must be easy to use; you must be able to navigate through the data room with ease. One of the most important things you must consider is a comprehensive yet simple and customizable virtual data room dashboard so that you can access the important sections of your VDR from your home page with ease.
Lastly, even if your employees are not tech-savvy, they should be able to operate a VDR with basic training.
4. Reporting
Depending on the size of your organization and the data room services you use, there can be hundreds of users in your VDR. Yes, you can prevent unauthorized entries in your data room and restrict document access, but you still need weekly or monthly reports on what is happening in your dataroom.
Therefore, never compromise on data room reporting features such as audit logs. Audit logs or audit trails are detailed reports on VDR users’ activities. These reports can give you minute-by-minute or even second-by-second details of anything happening in the VDR.
5. Customer support service
A great virtual data room with bad customer support service is like a weapon without bullets. Technical or manual issues are part and parcel of technology, but a good customer support service can easily negate such issues.
Most businesses intend to use virtual data rooms for years and may face difficulties in the future. However, having spontaneous, knowledgeable, and supportive customer care service is important. Some virtual data room providers like iDeals hire industry experts to run their customer support service department.
6. Pricing
Last but not least, virtual data room pricing is a vital aspect to consider before buying any virtual data room subscription. First things first, there are no free virtual data rooms, and if someone is offering free services, it is highly likely that they have very basic features to offer. Besides, great things come at a price.
Furthermore, many data room vendors can trick you via ambiguous pricing models that may charge you hidden fees. Therefore, it is highly recommended to clarify everything about the pricing and go for transparent pricing schemes like flat-fee and per-user pricing models.
Final words
Different business sectors use virtual data rooms according to their needs. However, no matter what your objective is, always evaluate the following aspects while hiring a data room service:
- Ease of use
- Security
- Document management
- Customer support service
- Reporting
- Pricing
