As a society, we have become very reliant on technology to handle our sensitive personal information.
We store personal data on our devices and in the “cloud” and transfer money worldwide using online transactions.
While the general public must make sure to secure their data as much as possible, data security is of the utmost importance when it comes to business.
Any form of a data breach can cause chaos at best but could even potentially cripple the business making it unable to meet financial obligations.
Securing your data is one of the most important steps you can take to protect yourself online.
So what steps can you take to ensure that your data is safe when sharing critical financial data?
You can use several methods to send sensitive data, of which we will discuss the most secure and most common way.
Virtual Data Rooms (VDR)
The best method for securing vital company data is using what is known as a virtual Data Room for Financials.
Virtual data rooms or data rooms are cloud-based services specifically designed for the safe storage and sharing of confidential business data.
With data rooms, you can operate them in various ways, such as permitting granular permissions, adding notes and adding bookmarks, etc., as well as enforcing authentication with multiple-factor authentication and watermarking.
Over the past decade, its use cases have increased from financial transactions and IPOs to asset auditing and asset lifecycle management.
A data room may be a convenient tool for any company seeking to efficiently and securely manage its documents.
How Are Virtual Data Rooms Different From Cloud Storage?
There is one significant difference between a virtual data room and standard cloud storage.
An ordinary cloud storage provider is more cost-effective for the upload and sharing of non-confidential documents.
On the other hand, a virtual data room is the best choice for large-scale documentation handling and sensitive information management and protection of rights and confidentiality.
Data room providers are audited regularly for compliance with the highest security levels, such as ISO 27001:2013 certification and GDPR.
How To Choose A Data Room Provider
Virtual data rooms store sensitive documents just like their name suggests.
As long as you have an internet connection, it is accessible from anywhere.
Businesses that need to manage their assets throughout their lifecycles and perform due diligence usually use virtual data rooms.
Data rooms serve as a foundation for the storage, management, and sharing of sensitive information in a secure and skilled manner.
The success of a project depends on selecting a suitable data room provider.
To choose one correctly, you need to understand a few key points.
Understand Your Needs And Capabilities
To make the best of your new data room, you need to know how it will improve your existing procedures.
In assessing the capabilities of potential users, you will be able to refine your criteria further.
The data room you choose should be intuitive, mostly if not everyone on your team is tech-savvy.
Defining your needs starts with the following questions:
- Do you need a lot of storage space?
- Which kinds of file types will you be storing?
- How much money are you willing to spend?
- The data room will be used by which members of the team?
- Are all employees going to be using the data room?
- What other uses will it serve, besides simply storing documents?
- What Functions Should A Virtual Data Room Perform?
There is a certain degree of similarity between different data rooms’ features and functionality, but the providers and data rooms each serve other purposes.
A virtual data room can have a wide variety of users, each with unique expectations and needs, so what is essential in a virtual data room depends on what is being done and how effectively it is managed.
A virtual data room’s functionality relies on the easy and secure uploading, storing, and managing of multiple files.
Data rooms also house letters, diagrams, and documents of all kinds that you can transfer between parties. The process must take place smoothly and securely.
Determine Desired Features
Every business will have different needs, but some are essential to all users. These include not just security but also the ability to share securely.
Some of the more important features include:
- Security
- Document management
- Audit logs
- Support
- Security
- Security is unquestionably essential when it comes to choosing a VDR.
Aside from damaging deals, compromised documents destroy companies’ reputations, potentially putting vast amounts of public data at risk.
When you search for a VDR, you should avoid any product that isn’t ISO 27081 compliant.
Remove software that doesn’t offer two-factor authentication to ensure that your passwords are safe, robust encryption methods to protect your documents, and digital watermarking features to shield digital copies from being stolen.
Managing Documents
Teams should also have the ability to manage files and documents.
Among the features offered are adding notes and comments, set due dates, assigning users to particular document tasks, and more.
Audit Logs
Look for a VDR that keeps track of all users, documents, and files within the room.
This provides project managers with several advantages, including identifying potential roadblocks, gauging users’ interaction levels, and preventing redundant work.
This is vital as it helps to see who is sharing what data and when.
Is Customer Support Available?
Even if your business has an excellent tech department, it always helps to contact support when needed.
Depending on how critical the smooth sharing of data is, you will probably want to look for a VDR that has a 24/7 call center. Failing that, it should, at the very minimum, have a live chat option.
Budget
Virtual data rooms are incredibly cost-effective, but they do have a range of pricing models.
Before beginning your search, have an idea of your price range so you may narrow your search.
Also, you need to determine the duration of the project and the number of users the data room will have.
The following factors can affect the price:
Total number of users
The price per additional user can be prohibitive for smaller companies since they only allow an administrator and a few users.
Storage size
This pricing structure isn’t optimal for most customers as it means they are charged according to the amount of storage they purchase.
These fees have been high; however, if you have a small project with short-term text documents, they might be cheaper than options.
Amount of documents
While this pricing model is slowly becoming obsolete due to the decrease in storage costs, it is still used.
It becomes particularly complicated when you factor in the security measures needed for secure document sharing and information.
Extra Features
Some VDRs will offer different options and features that may or may not be used for your business.
It is wise to see what features you need before deciding on one.
Summary
Virtual data rooms are resources used in the corporate world to secure the exchange of documents between any number of parties.
The technology behind a virtual data room ensures security by allowing users to share information that is encrypted.
They allow you to view and share confidential information with multiple participants at once.
The data you share is protected by the same encryption technology the military and major banks use to secure their top-secret files.
The result is an easy-to-use, secure, and efficient way to share data.
