18.1.2017
Virtual data rooms are the ideal instruments for exchanging sensitive data. Data room providers operate certified data centers and ensure secure availability and protection of the documents. Various safety sluices guarantee compliance with the highest safety requirements on the customer, user and supplier side.
This will make your data room project successful:
Checklist 2017: 10 points applies to data room rental
But what should you look for when buying or renting a data room? Purchasing your own, self-sufficient solution requires your own IT expertise in the company and is often a security breach. Therefore, experts favor the so-called SaaS solution. It stands for software as a service. The data room service provider provides the hardware and software and ensures the security and constant availability of the data room.
We have summarized the most important points for you in a checklist, which should be taken into consideration when renting virtual data rooms.
Checklist Data room 2017 – Top 10
German data room location, German provider, German software
Look at the provider you want to trust. The server must be in Germany. The software is programmed by German software developers. The provider is a 100% German company.
Flexible access hierarchies in the data rooms
User privileges are multi-layered, flexible, and distinctly distinct. Access levels can be assigned to documents and folders.
Data access only for authorized users
Data access may only be made for the assigned users. Administrators have no access to documents, and document structures are strictly secret.
Quickly upload the data to the data rooms
The server and the connection to the Internet should be performant, so that the data can be uploaded quickly. In addition, it should be possible to upload a packaged file (eg in ZIP format), which is then unpacked with the folder structure.
Protection of data room documents against unauthorized transmission
Documents must be available in a non-storable view. Neither the right mouse button can save the graphics, nor can screenshots be made or the page printed out. These rights are restricted to the user and document level.
Notifications by e-mail
When a new document is uploaded, a notification e-mail will be sent. This has the advantage that participants of the data room do not have to search long when new documents are provided.
Audit-proof logging of data room activities
All user activities are labeled with revision-safe time. Which document has been downloaded or viewed? How often was the user active in the data room? These questions should be available to the operator of the data room at the push of a button. Downloadable or printable pages are protected with a watermark with time and users.
Easiest data room management for users and providers
No training should be necessary to use the data room on the user and provider side. The application should speak for itself and be self-explanatory. This also avoids expensive training.
Multilingual user management of data rooms
In international business, it is important to offer user guidance in the language of the participants. Please ensure that your data room is also provided in English, at least as well as German.
Termination of the data area
No gag contracts with a term of more than one month. Everything else is dubious. Often contracts are offered with notice periods of 12 months. This period is unrelated to the flexible use of virtual data rooms and a fair partnership.
Data room solutions are suitable for all situations where sensitive data must be made available to a large number of users:
- Tax consultants and auditors (due diligence processes))
- M & A Professionals and Corporate Finance Consultants (due diligence processes))
- Affiliates (participation management and due diligence processes))
- Real estate companies (portfolio management and due diligence processes))
- Project developer (communication with relevant stakeholders))
- Decentralized project teams (project management))
- Public administration (government-to-business communication)