5 Key Online Data Room Features You May Be Missing

Jan 31, 2019 5 Key Online Data Room Features You May Be Missing

The phrase digital transformation is hot once again. And with good reason. There can be no doubt that technology is changing how we do business.  Even small and mid-sized businesses are seeing the value in storing and sharing data in the cloud.  A Virtual Data Room (VDR), where you can work collaboratively and share sensitive documents and information, is one of these technologies that started about 20 years ago yet continues to grow exponentially in usage each year as users discover the many benefits.

Initially the exclusive domain of lawyers and M&A companies, many businesses are now seeing the need for a VDR. An online data repository is more convenient than a physical space. Accredited users can access the documents at any time and, with the security features of a Virtual Data Room, the information is always protected and secure.

There are many Virtual Data Room providers on the market and each one has a particular set of features. Here are five features users of data rooms rate as vital:

1. Documents Added Since Last Login. 

Data rooms can contain thousands of documents particularly energy acquisition and divestiture data rooms.  Make sure your VDR vendor offers a feature that displays a list of all of the documents that have been added since each user’s last login. It will save the users time searching through a data room to determine what is new and they will thank you for it.

2. Customized Branding of the Virtual Data Room

This is a vital feature because all parties should feel safe and secure knowing that this is your VDR, not a bolt-on service hosted by a third-party vendor.  If you were to have a physically secure data room you’d make sure it was an integral part of your business, not on some outside premises. Do the same with your Virtual Data Room. You should be able to add your logo prominently on the VDR and have a branded URL that clearly shows that it’s part of your company’s online presence. You should be able to create your own unique URL address as well.

3. Customized text: 

When your Virtual Data Room is designed and built specifically for your needs you can add text to the home page and to the data room home page. You can give users the information you want them to have right away.  You can direct them to the documents and tasks they need to do. This can facilitate the speed of the deal. Many vendor’s VDR platform is so pre-formatted that there is little opportunity for much customization.

4. Activity tracking:

When you can easily see who logged in and which documents have been viewed, printed, and downloaded it helps the selling agents and collaborative teams to know who is interacting with specific data sets and makes it easier for compliance to keep track of all actions. Not only do you want to be able to track site visitors activity but you want to be able to track the site administrators activity in case there are questions about who did what to the data room content.

5. Metadata Columns:

Metadata is information about information. The metadata can make it easier for site visitors to understand and find specific folders and documents related to their unique interests. Site administrators should choose data rooms that allow the documents to display metadata.

These are by no means all the features of a Virtual Data Room, but if you are missing any of them it’s time to consider designing and building a room that meet your company’s individual requirements.

About the author:  Mickey Henry is the owner of idrShare, LLC and supports investment banks, advisory firms and corporations by building and hosting customer designed virtual data rooms. Mr. Henry has over 18 years’ experience in providing data rooms and provides passionate support to his clients.