Virtual Data Room Providers Review

Check out the best virtual data room providers according to VDR global rankings. Compare prices and features of virtual data rooms and choose the data room software for your needs.

We provide insight and advice to help clients understand the virtual data room market trends, identify opportunities, and grow their businesses.

What is a virtual data room?

A virtual data room (VDR) is a secure online platform for storing and sharing confidential information during financial or business transactions. Usually, it is used to facilitate the due diligence process in M&A deals.

Online data rooms allow users to share critical business data over the internet in a controlled environment and interact with other users in a completely secure manner from any device and location.

Virtual data room is also synonymous with “virtual deal room” or “dataroom.”

Who provides data room services?

Virtual data room service providers are certified providers of secure cloud software. VDR providers comply with the necessary digital standards to ensure the security of business document flow. The number of virtual data room services on sale is off the charts due to the growing number of customers. Developers are also trying to create VDRs that are better than the previous ones. In this regard, a potential user has to allocate time to find the most suitable tool. These are the companies that supply high technological online space for business needs.

The virtual data room vendors eliminate such things as:

• the dangers of leaks,
• contingencies associated with technical aspects,
• incorrect transaction flow.

Virtual data room vendors are providers whose services are in great demand for sale today. Clients receive an electronic platform for:

• keeping data safe;
• secure exchange of confidential information;
• making deals without the problems that usually accompany this process.

The users range from small start-up companies to world-renowned organizations. It is easy to explain because the commitment of any business to security does not depend on the field of activity. It is vdr providers that offer a product that satisfies both this urgent need and many others. Deal room software is usually user-friendly with round-the-clock access for authorized persons. At any time, it is possible to exchange files, contact colleagues and partners without worrying about leaks and other problems.

By purchasing a product, the buyer gets not only a tool but also professional support. It consists of consulting or administrative services in addition to secure vdr. Consequently, now deal-making for parties is not a time-consuming task with many stages. Companies rely on providers with extensive experience in closing dozens or hundreds of deals across industries. By listening to recommendations, they feel more confident and secure in business dealings. The platform takes on paperwork, process control, security.

M&A data room providers

How to choose data room software: Selection guide 

While searching for the right VDR takes a lot of time and effort, the process isn’t necessarily hard especially if you follow our virtual data room solutions selection guide. 

Identifying your goal plays a significant role in choosing which among the Virtual Data Room solutions is best for your business. Once your intention is clear, you can move on to specific steps of selecting a competent VDR provider for your needs. 

1. Outline your requirements

Every company and every project is unique. Based on your purpose, the company’s size, the industry specifics, and many other factors, you’ll need to navigate between pre-established VDR plans and tailored flexible virtual data room solutions. Below are two essential factors to keep in mind at this stage:

People. Begin by listing everyone who might need access to the VDR. Ask yourself:

• Are they the key decision-makers or the entire company? 
• What access level will each member have? 
• Are all potential VDR users tech-savvy? 

Setting aside the strictly technical side of VDR selection and considering the people factor will help you make the right choice when selecting the right tool, so make sure to account for all possible users.

Data. Another aspect to contemplate is the data you will trust in the Virtual Data Room. Ask yourself:

• What is the volume of the data that we will store? 
• What are the main file types we rely on in daily business communication?
• What confidentiality levels will the organization need? 
• What downloading possibilities will allow for quick data sharing?

Planning the structure of the VDR in advance is an excellent asset to handling data safely and effectively. 

With the outline of what you expect from a fitting VDR provider, you are ready to proceed to the next step: listing the distinct features you will look for across various virtual data room solutions.

2. Consider the necessary features

If this is your first time dealing with virtual data room solutions, you might not know what is generally available out there. At this point, it is important to comprehend the distinction between rudimentary data storage and VDR. While typical storage solutions offer different approaches to data safekeeping, such as uploading, viewing, downloading, and sometimes minor editing, virtual data rooms go beyond that scope. 

Data handling enabled by VDRs can involve many dimensions of technological advancements. For instance, you can choose to limit or restrict access to particular sections of the Data Room, watermark documents, track downloads, prevent screenshots, and more. Established VDR providers will also grant you access to an array of professional, administrative services, such as translation or document scanning, for an additional fee. 

3. Allocate the budget

Budget allocation is a brief, yet vital step of going through Virtual Data Room solutions. Whether you are making the decision yourself or pitching the VDRs to your superiors, keep in mind that the functionality and effectiveness of the Data Room will always correlate with its usage cost. But this doesn’t mean that setting up a Virtual Data Room will be unreasonably expensive. 

As you will learn further, the pricing policies of VDR providers are based on the service offering and the specific requirements of your company. What’s more, as long as you are dealing with a trustworthy provider, you will have a chance to learn and understand the prices before making any decisions.

4. Compare the options

The number of virtual data room services on sale is off the charts. It is because the number of customers is growing. The developers are trying to create something better than the previous ones. In this regard, a potential user has to allocate time to find the most suitable tool. They differ in lots of characteristics, among them are:

• the function set,
• the availability of technical support professionals,
• the level of security.

To choose the best option, each client must consider these and many other aspects. Some companies select data rooms by price, others by quality. But still, each of the directors should remember that teamwork and data protection depends on this acquisition. However, high cost does not always mean high-quality services. That is why it is necessary to pay maximum attention to all of the next factors.

Comparing the available Virtual Data Room solutions is the most time-consuming phase. At this point, consider using the following criteria to outline the most suitable VDR providers:

Security

Ensuring the safety of your data is crucial when it comes to sharing documentation via VDRs. When comparing, keep an eye out for things like two-factor authentication, timed access expiration, multiple permission levels, and IP-address-based access limitations. Take note of the provider’s compliance certificates to guarantee the perfect match with top security standards. Look for Virtual Data Room solutions that exhibit certifications such as SOC 1 & SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR, and PCI DSS.

Deployment

Each VDR offers a certain level of adaptability when it comes to operating systems and devices. The ideal solution will be equally functional across all majorly utilized platforms – be it iOS or Android, Windows, Linux or macOS. You won’t need to install numerous plugins or write a single line of code. Also, look at the suggested data hosting locations. The majority of Virtual Data Room solutions use public clouds and multiple international data centers, but the select ones might be able to offer physical storage and data center preferable to the user as well.

Support

You can judge the effectiveness of any given Virtual Data Room solutions provider by their customer support’s availability, contact channels, response time, and the ability to get a dedicated team to assist you through your VDR experience. The preferable configuration of the Virtual Data Room support offering will feature the ability to communicate in multiple languages, have access to someone on the team 24/7, and a choice to communicate via live chat, phone, or email. 

User management

The Virtual Data Room solutions provider you’d want to go with will give you an option to restrict the accessibility by location or by role, establish multiple accessibility levels, and monitor the activity of all users within the platform. To ensure an effective experience for all, look for the features such as bulk invitations, adjustable Excel viewing permissions, user notifications, and streamlined group setup. 

Interface

When it comes to a VDR’s interface execution, the bottom line is always a clear, intuitive configuration, equally apparent to the CFO and the entry-level accountant. A VDR with a well thought-out interface should offer extensive deployment options, a single sign-on for all projects, and a convenient scroll-through for navigation between thousands of files. Apart from a simple and comprehensive UI, you might also want to take advantage of VDR customization. This way, your corporate branding is transmitted every step of the way and the function prioritization meets your specific needs.

Here’s another list of questions to help users with the choice of virtual dataroom. They are about how easy it is to work on the platform and how accessible it is.

• What are the operating systems that VDR can co-exist?
• Is it available on mobile devices?
• How modern and accessible is the interface design?
• How many steps are required to invite new members or upload data?
• Are the virtual data rooms accessible all the time? Are there restrictions?

Pricing

The pricing policies correspond to different guidelines across the majority of Virtual Data Room solutions. Some options rely on per-page or storage-based pricing policies, where the final cost depends on the amount of data you’ll need. Other solutions rely on the per-user model where you pay for the number of seats. Alternative pricing model offers a flat monthly fee, which depends on the package you choose. Some offer a limited data storage capacity, while others allow for a bespoke enterprise experience with unlimited administrators and solid storing space. The final cost will depend on the task, the amount of data, the number of users, and the pricing policy you choose.

5. Read the reviews

Start by going through the reviews presented at the chosen VDR provider’s website. The Data Room companies that have been around for a while usually accumulate a decent amount of credible evaluations. 

I would like to mention iDeals Solutions – one of the best virtual data rooms. The platform is easy to manage and customizable. The flexibility in settings is great for fundraising projects and tendering with many participants.

Alexey Zykov

Fundraising,

ARGO Capital Advisors

“Conduct a deal without Firmex Data Room Software it is like to run an airport without air traffic control.” Firmex VDR offers to toggle quickly between projects and has an intuitive interface. Great technical support solves all the issues immediately.

Gillian Stacey

Legal,

Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP

But don’t stop at the internal reviews. Take the time to read third-party sites for deeper insights into VDR providers. You will want to check out the customer reviews on platforms like Trustpilot or Software Advice, as well as the employees’ view of the company on Glassdoor, for example. Taking both internal and external virtual data room reviews into consideration will give you a good idea of the VDR’s effectiveness and ethics.

6. Request a complimentary trial

Just before you make the final choice among the considered Virtual Data Room solutions, take advantage of using their services for free for at least a month. Try to steer clear from the VDR providers that don’t offer complimentary trial periods, as it might mean they don’t have a lot to offer and sustain on initial charges alone. 

Having discussed some issues with a provider, any customer will make sure they are going for the best virtual data room. Sometimes the service ends with the software launching. In this case, users are left alone with problems and unanswered questions.

• Does the offer include a free trial?

It is more important than it might seem at first glance. Without a demo, this deal is like buying a pig in a poke. Having the opportunity to try a product, a buyer sees reasons for the investment, sometimes quite expensive.

• Does the offer cover technical support?

Ignoring this issue, the organization denies itself professional assistance in force majeure situations.

• Is it possible to order additional options after installing the electronic data room?

No one can foresee new needs tomorrow. Best data room providers do not exclude such a possibility, and therefore they create a flexible program.

• How efficient is training for company personnel?

All directors want to see that each of the colleagues gets used to the new work format quickly. Otherwise, what should be of great benefit will lead to slowdowns.

During the data room free trial, you should get a feel of how well your requirements match with the chosen VDR. Additionally, you can use the charge-free time to prepare for future procedures, upload and organize all the documents, and set the appropriate access limitations. 

7. Start using the VDR

After you found the gem in the ocean of modern Virtual Data Room solutions, go ahead and start benefiting from the software that accommodates your every need and makes the process of sensitive data management enjoyable for everyone involved. 

Key benefits of VDR software

There are advantages to using this tool despite the industry or the size of the company. Traditional storage and file-sharing programs are limited in capabilities. Background and business-critical needs predictions make digital data room creators the most advanced in the technology. In more detail about the benefits, then these are:

• innovative mechanisms to guard the content of the platform, which exclude the intervention of third parties,
• organization of data in such a way that users can easily find materials, without heaps of paperwork,
• document administration tools that make it easier for even the largest corporations,
• directors and staff have free access to the virtual site anytime and from any device,
• the transaction process is less stressful and does not raise concerns about the safety of exchange and storage.

Virtual data rooms are among the most powerful online tools. They erase the boundaries of time and regions, allowing participants to conduct secure business processes from anywhere in the world, regardless of the task that the business needs to solve at the moment.

Virtual rooms are designed to help with the following:

1. Provide secure data storage
2. Provide convenient and granular access to documents for each participant
3. Make any process with documents exchange, discussion, and approval (e.g. M&A process) simple, fast, and as transparent as possible.

These are the main advantages of virtual rooms for business:

Data security guarantees

With a virtual data room, your documents will always be protected.

Each file that you upload to the virtual room is checked by antiviruses for integrity and the absence of threats. Downloading damaged or vulnerable files to the room is restricted.

Access to each file such as opening and downloading is controlled by multi-level encryption so you can manage access to documents both in the virtual and physical rooms. If necessary, you can remotely delete any file.

Full document management control

You can configure individual access to view and download documents for all room participants and see the actions that users performed with these files. 

For example, you can allow full or partial rights for viewing or editing documents, assign watermarks to files, and give granular permission to download or print them.

Workflow speed

With virtual data rooms, working with files is even faster and more convenient. They are easy to upload, merge, move, download, delete, and restore. If necessary, several files can be combined into one.

Easy access and availability

All participants in the virtual data room can work with documents in the web interface or mobile iOS/Android applications without the need to install additional plugins or programs.

In addition, participants do not need to remember usernames and passwords for each project as the best VDR providers offer single sign-on technology.

Increased transparency

Virtual Data Room makes working with documents transparent for the room owner and for all participants involved in the process:

1. Each action and information that participants look for in the data room is recorded in the action log. These data allow you to analyze all user activities for a selected period of time and for specific documents in order to avoid conflicts, misunderstandings, and disagreements.
2. An intuitive reporting tool with color-coding (heat map) allows the owner of documents to quickly analyze which groups and projects of the room show the highest activity.
3. You can even analyze any actions by individual users or user groups (how often they enter the system, what documents are available to them, etc.) and change the settings if necessary with few clicks or taps.

Reduced overhead costs

Deploying an analog of VDR on your own servers will cost much more than using an existing cloud-based solution. In addition, the use of a solution that is provided by a trusted vendor eliminates the risks associated with data leakage compared to conventional cloud data products, e.g. Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, etc. In some cases, such leaks can bring much more losses than standard overhead costs.

Uses of virtual data rooms

Virtual data rooms are utilized in almost any situation where you need to give confidential access to certain information to a group of people. Most often, VDR is employed for the following tasks:

• Corporate documentation analysis
• Creating a corporate document repository
• Conducting an audit before a merger and acquisition (M&A) transaction
• Preparing documents for the company’s IPO
• Communication with investors
• Bankruptcy and restructuring procedures
• Code analysis without the risk you have when transferring it to other contractors

The very first stage of filtering through possible virtual data room solutions is outlining your main goal. Sensitive data handling applies to a lot of different use case scenarios, and the specifics of each particular one should correspond with the VDR’s functionality and features. 

To give you a general idea, below are the most common implementations of Virtual Data Room solutions.

M&A due diligence

While Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) are vital to any successful company’s growth, the process itself is hardly ever pleasant and facile. M&As call for huge volumes of sensitive documents required at different phases. From this perspective, the VDR has to offer a flexible variety of access settings and the option to break each project into stages, such as pre-marketing, due diligence, and post-merger integration. 

Corporate repository

Even though a company is in the developmental state, there will always be plenty of confidential data to store. The ability to manage access privileges and the availability of large storage volume are essential to establishing a VDR corporate repository. In addition, the preferable virtual data room solutions will offer long-term plans aside from the monthly- or project-based fees. 

Real estate management

Real estate deals are always associated with escalated amounts of documentation. Particularly, when the firm’s expertise goes beyond the sales and purchases facilitation, offering advisory services, property or land valuation, and others. virtual data room solutions ideal for real estate management have to provide an option for automatic loading of documents in bulk and sorting the data into a pre-set template.

Initial Public Offering (IPO)

Like engaging in M&A, filing an IPO is a compelling yet effort-consuming process. Companies preparing for IPOs have to work hard to gather the required documents and submit them on time. Also, because of the sheer complexity of public offerings, third-party experts might be involved. Utmost confidentiality and flexible access restrictions are inevitable elements of suitable Virtual Data Room solutions for IPO filings.

Capital raising

Securing funds for a launch or a project is also as multi-leveled and complicated as it gets. Depending on the nature of your venture, you are going to deal with varying levels of confidentiality, storage volume, access settings, and stage segregation. When considering Virtual Data Room solutions for raising capital, it is crucial to evaluate Guest User privileges and access levels. Because the number of visitors is virtually unlimited, you might need to look into creating a separate VDR for the initial presentation and public-access documents.

Today, virtual data rooms are actively used in the healthcare, risk capital, business agents, banks, financial institutions, consultancy, manufacturing, immovable property, accounting, and audits industries. Therefore, if your business involves sensitive data management of any kind and it is important to maintain access rights and control over the distribution of transmitted information, there is a huge chance that virtual data rooms will help you to maintain these processes easily.

How virtual data room rating is formed?

To tackle this behavioral pattern on this particular site, we have collected all available information from open sources to create the basis for the current electronic data room rating. In order to provide consistent evaluation, we implement a five-star scale rating based on the average score for each of the indicators:

The rating below shows the final result of this assessment. It is updated monthly. VDR Rating includes the following components:

This site presents an independent online rating of virtual data rooms. Here, we have gathered all the online data room providers who work with top companies around the world. The methodology behind the rating is an aggregate average rating. We created this rating because reviews posted on just one website can be biased as companies often reward their customers for leaving positive virtual data room reviews.