Written by edgaragentsdb on May 12, 2017
As technology evolves, improving laborious procedures that were once time consuming and expensive, the issue of security and efficiency continue to plague our trust. For instance, the due diligence process in mergers and acquisitions has shrunk significantly thanks to virtual data rooms (VDR), but there are still players questioning its privacy and speed. So, what is a VDR and why do we need it?
In short, a virtual data room (VDR) is a secure online repository for documents and analysis. This means necessary documentation, financials and forecasts will sit in one virtual storage space for investment bankers and their clients to access at any time. Within the past 10 years, VDRs have grown more popular for several reasons and one of them is their high security and privacy.
As you might imagine, a VDR must possess the highest level of security and privacy because of the highly sensitive data being stored. Some may not be aware, however, that the security found in VDRs matches the same level of security found in banks. In addition to high security, VDRs ensure that private information will not be affected by natural or manmade disasters such as fires or floods.
Since their introduction 10 years ago, virtual data rooms have become a virtual necessity with mergers and acquisitions, replacing the long and tedious due diligence tasks that often result in stacks and stacks of paper, costly solutions and shorter deal cycles. The concept behind VDRs is to save money while providing a secure interaction and transparency among parties involved. So, those not using VDRs in their M&A deals are probably spending double the amount necessary for their M&A.
One unnecessary cost is the renting a physical space to store documents and keeping them secure. Then there is the issue of investors or auditors wanting to see your company’s information. You will now have to spend time and money to accommodate them and their stay. However, with your VDR on the Internet, investors and auditors can access your data from anywhere around the world to make informed decisions. Overall, transparency of data builds trust with investors, auditors or anyone needing to access your data.
Tags and links to other paperwork also make it easier for transaction or legal teams to navigate and browse through important information. As a matter of fact, there are so many innovative features in VDRs that it can be overwhelming to choose the right host company. We suggest choosing a company that has experience in technology as well as financial and legal procedures.
As financial filers to the SEC for over a decade, we offer everything you will need in a VDR such as security, speed and convenience. It takes 15 minutes to deploy your data room from any computer, browser or mobile device. No plug-ins are required. Just drag and drop your entire index structure in two clicks with no document preparation. We support more than 25 file formats for secure viewing, printing and downloading.
In addition, administrators can copy and paste email addresses to invite hundreds of users in one minute, while securing which files can be viewed, printed or downloaded by a specific user. Furthermore, because many M&As are done with companies headquartered overseas, time zones might seem to cause a problem, but our VDRs are available 24/7/365, including weekends and holidays.
To ensure the highest security, our data center operations are ISO 27001 certified and audited by Ernest & Young. Your data will also be protected by 256-bit encryption and 2048-bit keys when transferred and when at rest.
If you haven’t already considered using virtual data rooms for your M&A, you more than likely will spend twice as much time and money with your due diligence. So, make it a stress-free process and research your options. To hear more about our VDRs or to simply get started, visit our website at www.edgaragents.com or call our office at 732-780-5036. You can also reach us on any of our social networks: LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+.
