While VDRs are commonly associated with M&A due diligence, they can also be used for almost any other process which requires a company to share confidential information outside its firewall. Whether it is sharing intellectual property to support an IPO or soliciting funds from limited partners, VDRs can aid in making any document sharing process simpler by improving communication and automating tasks.

Virtual data rooms permit users safe data storage to access and view documents at any time, in contrast to their predecessors that required companies to send physical copies of their documents to reviewers. While reviewing process is much faster and easier, it also ensures only authorized parties can see confidential business documents and eliminates the possibility of an incident of security or compliancy violation.

For example, for instance, a VDR can provide granular user activity tracking for each of the documents in the room including who accessed what document and at what time. This feature can be useful when conducting security audits since it can show that only a particular group of users viewed the sensitive documents for business. It can be helpful for M&A due diligence because it gives an easier view of interest levels, and helps companies identify what documents are most appealing to investors or bidders.

When selecting the right VDR make sure you choose one that allows for custom reports and real-time analytics in order to give administrators the behind the scenes intelligence they need. It should be simple to use on any device and offer seamless user experience for many users.