A virtual dataroom (VDR) provides secure document sharing and collaboration in various business processes. VDRs are particularly useful for M&A due diligence and financing, legal proceedings and other crucial projects that require the disclosure of privileged information to outside parties that are not within the firewall of the company.
Some traditional VDR providers require users to download and install plugins or desktop software to access security features. This can slow down the review process, impede access to the VDR and even prevent potential buyers or partners from participating in any way. Modern VDRs provide users a seamless experience with native browser support. This makes them more durable, flexible, and intuitive.
In addition to providing an organized repository of documents, many VDRs have search features that can search for text in most file types including PDF and Excel documents. This is particularly crucial for M&A due-diligence and fundraising, as it helps administrators determine the amount of interest generated by bidders or investors.
Many VDRs allow users to set permissions for their folders so that only users who have the need to see the document can do so. Private equity and venture capital firms use this feature to share their reports with their portfolio companies, limited partners and investors in order to protect their confidentiality and speed up the review process. In addition, pharmaceutical and biotech companies use VDRs to share quickly their intellectual property and clinical trials with research partners and regulators.