What Is Document Rights Management Software?

Erik Mills

4 min read

#Digify News Update: Apr 15, 2021

Documents Rights Management, Information Rights Management and Digital Rights Management are all interchangeable terms that are part of the Rights Management System, which refers to the protection and management of information to a select group of individuals.

What is rights management?

While innovation and growth have fueled better digital platforms and services, they have also created an opportunity to steal confidential data stored on the internet. 

Rights Management Software allows the owner of the “data” or “confidential work” to restrict access to documents to allowed personnel only. Such software gives the ”owner” the ability to share, edit, extract and keep track of data in the form of digital documents. 

By utilising document right management, individuals and businesses can limit the expanse of confidential documents only to individuals who have the authorisation to access them.

Documents right management is not a new concept as one could trace back its inception to the Microsoft Windows Server in 2003 and in subsequent Windows versions since then, but Document rights management has evolved quite tremendously from its earlier versions. 

Dan Plastina, who is in charge of Microsoft right management offering, including the popular Azure RMS, states that “the core of the rights management is identity-bound data protection; you encrypt the file so that only the right person has access to it.” 

Gartner analyst Mario de Boer comments that “the traditional way of protecting data focuses on control.“

But even with all the benefits and, more importantly, the functionality of the Rights Management System, its implementation is still low. Mario de Boer also notes that while ERDM is more popular than it ever was, enterprise-wide deployments are still rare.

Why is documents right management software essential for a business?

The argument for Documents Rights Management is way bigger than just protection of confidential records from hackers; it is about controlling access to the information. 

Case in point Ofcom, one of the largest U.K. media regulators, suffered one of the biggest leaks in their history when an employee downloaded large data pertaining to classified businesses and deals over a period of 6 years and shared this data with one of Ofcom major rivals just after leaving the company.

This data breach could have been easily prevented by implementing document security software that would limit the employees’ access and control over confidential documents. With Document Right Management, it would have been possible to restrict access to those documents once the employee left the company, making the downloaded data worthless.

Another great benefit of utilising documents rights management is that one can license the usage of documents to another individual after certain conditions have been met. One of the more aggressive users of documents right management is Amazon Kindle, which allows the reader to use an eBook after they pay for it, but they are not authorised to edit or share the doc with any other individual.

What are data rooms, and how are they used for document control?

Data rooms or virtual data rooms are cloud storage services specifically created with the purpose of sharing confidential information to entities, be it individuals, organizations or other businesses. Virtual Data Rooms are commonly used in confidential business operations like mergers and acquisitions with the purpose to share, review and disclose private information safely for due diligence.

Virtual data rooms are used by corporations to store private financial documents, trade secrets, copyright information, or any other documents that are considered classified. By utilizing Virtual Data Rooms, a company can easily secure its important documents against the threat of stealing or hacking and can easily make them available to specific individuals and/or organizations when and if required, without compromising the security of the documents. 

Intralinks, Onehub, Digify and CapLinked are some of the more popular Document Rights Management System providers globally.

Intralinks

Intralinks Document Rights Management system gives the owner complete control over the document by providing end-to-end encryption of each and every file and adds granular permissions control. Intralinks allows the administrator to easily control an individual’s access to each uploaded file, and the administrator can easily revoke the access of that individual even after the file has been downloaded.

Digify

With Digify, the administrator has the ability to restrict the downloading/printing of specific documents and it also automatically watermarks every file uploaded. Digify also allows the admin to track when and where the documents have been accessed as every interaction goes under its activity log.

CapLinked

CapLinked is highly reviewed as one of the easiest to use Documents Rights Management Software options. CapLinked is particularly renowned for its ease in sharing uploaded documents securely with an individual.

Onehub

Onehub is another well-known Documents Rights Management Software available on the market. This particular software can be easily operated with mobile devices. With embedded sign-in forms, workspace agreements and an additional feature of customizing pages in the Workspace, Onehub is a popular choice among corporations and individuals aiming to safeguard their confidential documents.

About Datasite’s solutions for DRM you can read here.

Nowadays, hacking or data breaches are increasingly common. Not a day goes by without news on massive information breaches that eventually end up on WikiLeaks or the dark web. Such data breaches impact the day-to-day operations of a company and also downgrades the trust it has with its customers. 

Such situations are PR nightmares for an organization, as it can severely dampen the company’s operations. That is why safeguarding confidential documents with Documents Rights Management should be a top priority for any company or even individual who wants to secure confidential documents against potential theft.