A data room can be considered a necessity for every company today, big or small. Unfortunately, not enough small companies use them to maintain the security of their client data and, of course, their own sensitive, financial, and creative data.
On the other hand, even if someone uses a data room, it doesn’t automatically protect them from all types of cyber threats either.
In order for the data room to be truly effective, it has to be provided by a reputed company. To make the choice easier, let’s now take a look at the few key points that should help in determining whether a data room provider is right for you or you need to look at other options as well.
See How their Plans Match Your Needs and Resources
Essential needs and questions should be written down even before you even begin looking for a data room provider.
- The amount of storage space you are likely to need for the foreseeable future
- The nature of the documents that you want to store in the data room
- Whether there are people in your team who are technically sound enough to operate data rooms securely
- Can they provide a secured, virtual deal room for safe deal management?
- The bandwidth of your office network and how it will impact your use of the data room
- Are their plans scalable, and do any of them match your current budget?
Direct the questions listed above to potential VDR providers and consider the data to make a financially and practically viable, long-term decision.
Security is of Paramount Importance
Data rooms have to be secured in order for them to be usable, which is common knowledge. The question is, how do you know that it truly is secure? Anyone can say that they have the safest data room in the world, but how can the clientele be sure about it, without being a technical expert themselves?
Thankfully, this is why we have the ISO 27081 standard. The DRM provider selected must be ISO 27081 compliant. If they are, it will be mentioned and verifiable as well. In addition to the international standard for data room security, look for other security measures, as implemented by them. Some of which are:
- Two-factor authorization
- An updated encryption system
- Digital watermarking
Granular Permissions
The ability to choose and set granular permissions is particularly relevant for protecting intellectual property and client information in virtual deal rooms. For example, the VDR should allow the owner of the document to restrict, allow access, or give view-only permission to each member present in the virtual room.
Reputation holds significant value in the cybersecurity business, so never undermine that aspect while choosing the provider. The more reputed the VDR provider is, the less likely they are to make mistakes. Check reviews before you draw up your final short-list.
Now that an outline regarding a good data room supplier is created, it should be easier to make the correct choice without too much guesswork.