Find the Best Virtual Data Room for Your Deals

How to set up a data room

Now that you have the data room provider situation sorted out, it’s time to learn how to set up a data room. Below are nine simple steps:

Step 1: Define your purpose

An effective experience always starts with thorough planning. Establish the purpose of the virtual data room from the perspective of your industry and the specific project. Pay extra attention to the different stages of your task and the parties who will require access to the data room.

Pro tip: ask your data room provider if they have worked on a similar project before. Utilizing a template can be a great asset to a successful VDR setup.

Step 2: Engage in data room training

Once you know who will be accessing the data room you are building, ensure they get trained on how to use it. Consider different levels of experience with technology and take advantage of the data room’s support team.

Pro tip: a conference call is an ideal solution to educate all users.

Step 3: Prepare the documents

Depending on what you are planning to use the data room for, you will be dealing with a specific range of data. Note how many documents you need to upload and choose the most suitable formats. In case you are dealing with physical paperwork, put extra effort into labeling the actual documents and their scans for easy access.

Pro tip: create or download a data room checklist to simplify document preparation. A typical list might feature the following:

• A database of all current employees with titles and salaries
• Partnership agreements
• All legal disputes
• Previous meetings’ minutes
• Past and current intern, contractor, and consultant contracts

Step 4: Outline the VDR’s internal structure

The next step on how to set up a data room is mapping out the sections and folders within it. Come up with the most logical and easy-to-comprehend organizational model for your case. Color-code and compartmentalize as much as possible.

Pro tip: Picture a physical storage facility to plan the data room software outline in the most straightforward way.

Step 5: Upload the files

Fill the pre-designed folder structure with the required documents and files. Pay special attention to naming and indexing the items.

Pro tip: the best data room features for effortless and fast file upload are Drag&Drop and Bulk Uploading. 

Step 6: Establish appropriate access permissions

Granting and restricting access are the key elements on how to set up a data room in the most secure way. Make sure that you establish a permission system that is both convenient and safe. Use tools like IP restriction and time limits to further enhance the security.

Pro tip: implement a level-based access hierarchy to easily manage permissions for entire groups.

Step 7: Sign the NDAs

Protect sensitive information within your data room by requesting all participants to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). Same as with the access permission, you can connect the non-disclosure rules to separate documents and full sections of the data room.

Pro tip: use dynamic NDAs for the documents that will constantly update. This way, the viewers will sign the agreement each time they access a newer version.

Step 8: Double-check the settings

Taking a step back and evaluating the whole picture is a crucial stage on how to set up a data room. Make sure all settings match your project’s specifics and requirements by checking the access permissions, browser and device compatibility, and established security protocols.

Pro tip: use the View As option to ensure you’ve set up the data room in the most optimal way for everyone.

Step 9: Invite other users and begin managing the project

Finally, share the invitations with all the users and start using the data room you created. Provided you followed all the suggestions, this process should be simple.

Pro tip: ensure you have an appropriate amount of administrators for your company’s size and the particular project.

How to choose the best data room provider

Choosing the best data room provider is the most challenging part of setting up a virtual data room. To help you navigate through the current offer of the best data rooms, we listed down the scope of their typical features.

Standard virtual data room providers features

These are the features found in almost every data room provider on the market.

Archiving

Every online data room provider will allow you to quickly access all past records. This comes in handy for referencing previous deals, accessing historical data, and optimizing governance.

Activity tracking

The activity reports will tell you who accessed each file, when the file was accessed, and for how long the file was accessed, helping you to oversee both activity and security.

Watermarking

Adding watermarks to documents is an excellent approach to limiting unwanted duplication and sharing. Dynamic watermarking, making it impossible to distribute the file without appropriate crediting.

Permission customization

Clear and intuitive access hierarchy setup is another universal feature. You can establish permissions for standalone documents and entire segments of the data room.

Branding

The common solution for customizing a data room would be adding a logo and brand colors.

Analytics and reporting

Interactive analytics, dynamic infographics, and up-to-date reporting are key to keeping track of the deal’s progress.

Advanced data room providers’ features

Keep these in mind when trying to figure out how to choose the best data room provider for your needs.

• API integration. Re-arranging the interface to your company’s specific needs and preferences is an option featured on some of the best virtual data rooms.
• Bulk uploads and downloads. Adding and retracting documents in bulk can save a lot of time and make your VDR experience a lot more effective.
• Interactive tools. Features such as polls, live chats, and Q&A can significantly streamline any data room process.
• Specialized interfaces. Interface templates for specific projects.

5 key aspects of virtual data room selection

Once you’ve outlined the best virtual data rooms for your company’s needs, the next step is evaluating the following criteria:

1. Security

• Look for: a “fence-view” feature to avoid unwanted glances, multiple-step verification, IP-restricted user access, page-by-page document viewing history, ISO27001 and SOC2 compliances.
• Ask: Where are the data centers located? Is there an option for physical storage?

2. Convenience

• Look for: versatile deployment solutions, Drag&Drop file upload, intuitive interface, and broad file format support.
• Ask: How long will it take to set up the solution? Does the online data room provider operate via plug-ins? What is the rate of the VDR’s uptime?

3. Support

• Look for: 24/7/365 availability, free access to VDR knowledge base, multiple languages, single-point-of-contact resolution, and minimal response time.
• Ask: Who will train my team to use the data room and how will they be trained? Who will manage the throughout its existence?

4. Customization

• Look for: brand logo and colors incorporation, interface adjustment, and project templates.
• Ask: To what extent can I customize virtual data room? Is it possible to integrate data from a different provider?

5. Pricing.

• Look for: transparent and comprehensive pricing plans, the payment methods, fixed rates, and the ability to create a custom package.
  
• Ask: Are the fees linked to the number of guest viewers or the amount of data to be stored? Can I upgrade and downgrade the initial plan I chose?

About virtual data room pricing

Many factors affect virtual data room pricing: the amount of storage needed, number of workspaces, administrators or users, document management and collaboration tools, level of document security, customization, onboarding, and customer support.

The price depends on the provider and can be:

• usage-based – when a client pays for the volume of data used
• per-user – when a client pays a price for every user
• tiered – when a client pays for a set of features collected in a package
• flat – when a client pays a fixed price and gets a full list of features
• per-feature – when a client pays a price for specific features it uses

The most popular virtual data room pricing models used by providers are tiered, per-user, and per-feature. Each of these pricing models has its pros and cons, therefore, when choosing among providers pay attention to its focus when developing a product (usually this can be gleaned from the provider’s marketing materials). Also pay attention to the features or value that the product provides to its users (think of 64 GB of memory or virtual data room unlimited storage vs. a thousand songs in your pocket).

No matter what pricing model you choose, most data room services provide a free trial that allows you to test the software first before paying to use it or to use virtual data room cost comparison tools to make the right choice.

Virtual data room comparison methodology example

On our site, you can find independent reviews of virtual data room providers to help you choose the vendor that fits your business needs.

We analyzed all providers and selected those that meet several crucial criteria. When we were compiling the ratings, which are regularly updated, we take into account not only the number of features that are presented in a particular product but also the experience gathered from interviews with actual users. We also considered virtual data room reviews and comments from our website and from third-party resources.
We use a five-point scale for the comparison of virtual data room providers for each category. Also, we indicate the difference between the scoring rating of different providers so that the strengths and weaknesses of all data rooms are clear.

We regularly analyze information on the internet to provide you with the latest data on virtual data room comparison and help you find the best data room.

Also, we have prepared pages with a comparison of different characteristics of data rooms: we carefully analyzed the offer of each of the providers, their functions, combined all the points, and got the final rating, which you can read at the comparison pages.
For comparison, we take into account several factors such as files and folders management, file protection and digital rights management, data hosting and infrastructure security, accessibility and ease of use, customization, support and services.

Virtual data room comparison methodology example

Not everyone is ready to pay for data to be stored but some companies need to use reliable and secure cloud storage for keeping corporate data. For those businesses, we’ve created our website.

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