This article will investigate the question of what is a Virtual Data Room and designate the basic features of such a service.
Guiding principles which help you to choose a Data Room
In today’s business environment, the one thing that all firms have in common is the need for quality data. We have compiled a list of parameters that you must pay attention to when choosing a cloud data center:
- Reliability and fault tolerance
The storage and protection of your data directly depend on these characteristics. It is better for the cloud operator to place its equipment in several data centers, one of which is located abroad. All of them must be built in accordance with the standards not lower than the TIER III level, which means mandatory duplication of all systems, 24/7 security, and physical security.
- Technical resources
The virtual data center should be built on the latest generation of A-brand equipment, using the latest productive processors and SZD, several virtualization platforms, such as VMware and OpenStack, which will solve a variety of complex tasks. The operation and fault tolerance of this platform depends on the quality of the equipment.
- Test period
You need to clearly define when the cloud operator begins the test period – before or after the transfer of customer data. It is also important to find out how long the test period lasts and whether it is free. During testing, you will be able to determine the exact amount of resources needed, and if the load increases, you can buy them instantly.
- Support
Operator technical support fulfills the mission of system administrators: they support the cloud. Find out how technical support professionals work, in what language they respond to inquiries and whether their services are free.
- Billing system
There are several billing options: in the form of fixed monthly payment for the allocated amount of resources (Allocated) or a monthly payment for the actual consumption of resources by virtual service.
Examples of available Data Room tools on the market today
Some of the famous providers of Virtual Data Room include:
- SecureDocs offers unlimited storage and users with a flat monthly fee. You can take advantage of various features such as watermarking, permission-based user roles, audit reporting, embedded electronic signature, and more. However, as with other traditional VDRs, SecureDocs lacks diligence control capabilities.
- Merrill offers a secure platform for reaching organizations’ strategic goals. It just takes 15 minutes to deploy an out-of-the-box solution. You can easily upload documents using drag and drop and manage intuitive document rights. Keep in mind that Merrill’s pricing structure has limitations for admins, users, data, and projects.
- Intralinks is designed to use mergers and acquisitions for global banking, transactions, and capital market transactions. It provides robust data protection, information rights management, and an updated user interface to secure your transactions.
Regardless of the industry, it is important that companies look for the type of VDR supplier that best suits their unique needs. After careful assessment, many find that these needs change over time. Typically, companies look for vendors with specific feature sets, pricing, security implementations, and usability that they can test during a free trial offered by most vendors in the industry.