Getting Started
What is a virtual data room, or VDR?
A virtual data room is a place in cyberspace, either in the cloud or on an in-house server, where due diligence and other deal documents can be stored and accessed.
This function can be constructed in-house but is often outsourced to data management companies with VDR products. (See Exhibit 6-2 for a list of products and websites, along with vendor name, if different.)
Exhibit 6-2 : A Representative List of Virtual Data Rooms
This list of virtual data rooms does not imply endorsement and does not claim to be complete.
- Ansarada VDR (by Ansarada Pty Ltd.), ansarada.com
- Box, box.com
- Brainloop, brainloop.comen-gb
- Caplinked, caplinked.com
- Clinked, clinked.com
- Datasite Diligence (formerly Merrill Datasite One) datasite.comus/en/products/diligence.htm
- Deal Interactive (by TransPerfect), securetrial.dealinteractive.compublic/index.html
- Dealroom (by Dealhub), dealhub.io/dealhub-dealroom-faster-sales/1
- Drooms, drooms.com
- EthosData, ethosdata.com
- Firmex, firmex.com
- ForData, fordatagroup.com
- iDeals, idealsvdr.com
- HighQ by Thompson Reuters legal.thomsonreuters.comen/products/highq
- Intralinks (by SS&C), intralinks.com
- OneHub, onehub.com
- SecureDocs (by Onit), securedocs.com
- Sharefile (by Citrix), sharefile.comvirtual-data-room
- Sharevault (by Pandesa Corporation), sharevault.com
- SmartRoom (by BMC), smartroom.com
- SRS Aquiam, srsacquiom.com
- VaultRooms, Inc., vaultrooms.com
- Venue (by DFIN), dfinsolutions.com/products/venue
- Workspaces (by Blackberry) formerly Watchdox, blackberry.comus/en/products/blackberry-workspaces-efss1
The full-service data room will have, among other features:
- Apps to support mobile access
- Deal platforms to share documents for specific transactions and for phases of transactions (e.g., due diligence, closing)
- Indexing template for document upload (checklist categories)
- Integration with the user’s document system (e.g., Microsoft Office)
- Security including encryption, administrative controls, and firewall protection
- Support and security for multiple file formats (PDFs, Word documents, etc.)
- Visual document tracking