Virtual data rooms (VDRs) are secure platforms which facilitate the review of documents in M&A transactions. This guide will introduce VDRs to you, discuss their benefits and usage and help you determine whether they’re the best option for your business.

The selection of a VDR is a crucial element in implementing a successful due diligence program. Start with reviewing internal reviews and third-party evaluations to get a complete view of each company’s effectiveness and ethics. You should look for an VDR that is easy to use and provides powerful capabilities. For instance, some offer advanced features like custom watermarks, branding features and NDAs that can be automatically applied to all documents. Some allow users to encrypt their files while they are stored as well as during transit. Administrators can establish specific permissions to control access, digital rights management and other functions.

When you have made a decision after a decision has been made, you can take advantage of VDR’s free trial to upload and organize all documents and test out the system’s security implementations. Invite a few individuals to join the dataroom and create groups of users to distinguish the rights of each team members, such as administrators or users.

Make sure that all users are taught on how to make use of the VDR and collaborate effectively. Create a well-organized folder structure to standardize the name of documents and the naming conventions, and keep clear access rights. Review and then update the structure to accommodate new teams and projects. Some VDRs also offer advanced functions such as see post redaction, which blacks out sections of files to protect personal information and prevent leaks.