No matter what kind of business you’re in, you need a reliable way to protect your most sensitive information and confidential documents. Large organizations have always used data rooms for this purpose, but these rooms have evolved significantly in a relatively short span of time. Initially, these were physical data rooms filled with locked file cabinets that housed important documents that would be reviewed by professionals like lawyers, investment bankers, and brokers during the due diligence process of important business transactions. When the digital age started altering the ways that organizations did business, it became common for secure documents and confidential information to be stored digitally in data warehouses. These were still physical rooms, but they contained servers rather than cabinets of physical files.
These days, it’s becoming more commonplace for enterprises to rely on virtual data rooms (VDRs) to house their important documents for third-party review during due diligence. Virtual data rooms (also known as deal rooms) are generally used for extensive business deals and processes that require hundreds, if not thousands, of pages of documents to be reviewed. Some common examples include mergers and acquisitions (M&A), initial public offerings (IPOs), large investments, and even fundraising. Here are some of the ways you can use a secure VDR to protect your most important data.
Built-in DRM keeps your digital assets safe.
You may know digital rights management (DRM) as a way for intellectual property creators and copyright holders to protect their property from piracy or other unauthorized use. DRM can also be applied to confidential information and documents, and it’s an important part of a secure online deal room.
When you’re sharing important business documents with other parties, you can’t afford to rely on typical options like Dropbox or Google Drive. These traditional file-sharing solutions offer no real protection for your data, and you’re also gambling on the security of everyone who downloads the files. With a secure data room with DRM, your files are protected with encryption, and only authorized users will receive decryption keys.
A reliable virtual data room will also keep all files in the dashboard, and users can view files without the need to download plugins, which can create additional security risks. You’ll even be able to set up additional security features of your own, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), thanks to custom application programming interfaces.
You have full access control over documents.
Arguably the biggest advantage of a secure virtual data room is the fact that it gives you full control over who can view your documents and when. All you have to do is upload documents or folders to the dashboard and select which users you’d like to grant access to each one. Then, you can simply click “enable DRM” to ensure the documents and folders are protected. You’ll be able to control whether users can view, download, share, or edit materials.
Naturally, this improves security during M&A deals and other business transactions since files are limited only to the professionals who need to see them (such as financial reports only being accessible by accountants). Document security is also boosted by the fact that you can rescind access to materials at any time, even after a user has downloaded the documents, thus cutting down on the risk for data breaches.
With customizable permissions and document controls, combined with bank-level security encryption from only the best virtual data room provider, you’ll have an easy-to-use and low-cost way to protect your most important information and maintain peace of mind knowing that your data is back in your hands (and only yours) once a deal is complete.
