The life of a company of any shape and scale is impossible without documents – incoming, outgoing, internal, drawn up according to specific rules, etc. With the active introduction of computer technology, dusty physical data rooms were replaced by virtual data rooms – operational and almost weightless. What is it, and what are its advantages? Let’s figure it out.
Virtual data room – an innovation in business data management
The online data room is an integrated cloud solution for managing the activities of small and medium-sized companies that solve such tasks as customer relationship management, business process automation, sales leadership, customer service, management control, organization of the company’s internal work, and much more.
The data room functionality allows companies to exercise two-way control over the transaction at all stages and, if necessary, promptly influence the process. Thanks to a simple and convenient status system, all order participants can monitor its progress in real-time. The service has all the advantages of cloud solutions, such as availability, cost-effectiveness, and ease of connection.
The software is focused on use in small and medium-sized enterprises with advanced contract work and in large enterprises’ sales or purchase departments. It is suitable for trading companies, construction, transport organizations, IT companies, law and consulting firms, and many other organizations that must establish the effective work of the contract department, sales departments, purchases, etc.
Let’s compare virtual data rooms: the top data room providers
After the online data rooms overview, we have created a list of the most popular providers in Europe and the US:
- iDeals. Users of iDeals’ virtual data rooms benefit from the increased security and flexibility of the platform while at the same time significantly reducing their financial investments.
- SecureDocs. The data room meets the basic needs of fundraising, mergers, acquisitions, and auditing projects, focusing on file organization.
- Intralinks. The data room has earned the trust of several well-known brands. However, the platform reportedly lacks flexibility for modern entrepreneurs.
- Onehub. The software allows users to choose white-label software to enhance their brand’s presentation. Onehub is best for smaller projects, as some users report difficulties accessing it.
- Brainloop. The multi-functionality of the platform sometimes leads to delays in loading and lengthy set-up times.
- Box. Compared to publicly available file storage, the software is more secure and functional, especially for small and medium-sized M&A deals, but unlike other solutions, it may lack niche expertise.
Valuable data room features
Using the data room software allows companies to increase the efficiency of contractual work and streamline data management with the help of the following features:
- Ready-made templates of contracts and other documents.
When creating a document, select the type: contract, act, invoice, or additional. Agreement and the program will offer to fill in only the details suitable for this type, indicate the counterparty, and put down the links.
- Autocomplete details in document templates
You need to spend a few minutes once setting up and filling in document templates. Then all contracts, estimates, applications, and other documents will automatically be filled in with details.
- Fast and convenient document search
In the found document, you will immediately see to whom and when it was transferred, when it was returned, at what stage it is, and what is with the deadlines.
- Analytics
You will receive a summary of all documents in a few clicks, a list of overdue and not returned documents on time, and the number of preliminary stages.