Newbie Guide: Set Up Your Virtual Data Room Without Problems

Companies who work with electronic data room services face a tough task of setting it up.

With that purpose, they should decide what information should be stored in a data room, how they should organize it, and what role-based permission groups should be created in the first place. This is a difficult data architecture that should be well thought out before introducing data rooms to your organizational processes.

Today, we’ll cover everything you need to know about setting up your online data room software — with peace of mind and without any issues. Let’s start with the basics.

What to consider before turning to data room services

Choosing the right data room provider for your organization is one of the first things to consider. At this stage, you should decide how much a virtual data room should cost and what feature set it should offer.

This sounds like an easy task, but the data room market is crowded. Thus, choosing the right solution meeting all your needs and requirements might be tricky. That’s where useful review sites come into play. Services like dataroom-providers.org will help you find the best data rooms for your needs

Once you have chosen from the plethora of data room providers online, the first thing you should do is create a schematic that encapsulates all the paperwork required for due diligence (or any other reasons you’ll use the virtual data room). It is a good idea to note down key roles, plus the individuals who’ll be organizing the information into the virtual data room.

Some companies like to think of a VDR as a room with lots of storage and cupboards. Each cupboard contains various files and paperwork, and can only be opened by people with the right key (or permissions). If you are the admin, you’ll have access to all files in the data room, and you’ll assign permissions to the relevant personnel to protect sensitive records and documents.

Organizations also need to divide their data and documents according to safety or significance. You should be aware of the data room’s security protocols following any data room comparison research. Be aware the many VDRs offer the following safety perks:

• • Any submitted documents can include an automated watermark. This watermark is custom-made and includes the user’s ID, IP address, and date of entry.
  • Remote digital shredding. Certain files are protected by encryption. Entry permissions can be withdrawn at any time, so sensitive information is only available as long as the admin allows. This is a great way to protect information from falling into the wrong hands. Admins can automatically delete data if there is a security breach as well, without needing to recover any stolen devices.
  • Fence view. Some VDRs allow admins to create a fence view, where users can only see part of a document based on their access level, meaning they only view the information they need to see.
  • Admins can assign zero printing, download, or screenshot permissions to protect their information during the due diligence process. Conversely, admins can also make specific data very easy to access and distribute when the need arises.

Tips on setting up your virtual data room

Modern virtual data rooms are usually intuitive and user-friendly, so setup is never too difficult, even if you are not too tech-savvy. Follow these tips to ensure the setup goes as smoothly as possible.

1. 1. Open the VDR and verify the numerous security options available. As listed above, there will often be many watermarking, NDA, expiration, permissions management, and reporting features available.
   2. Set up the VDRs reporting processes. Companies need a detailed history of user activity, so you can view how recipients engage with your files, and how long they spend on each document. This helps organizations understand which investors are more engaged with the due diligence process and lets you know who should receive reminders or follow-ups.
   3. Organize your files based on the file structure schematic. Follow your checklist and organize your data room in a logical way. Users should be able to find and access relevant files without issues, especially if they have a huge number of documents. Some VDRs will have a file indexing feature that makes finding documents remarkably easy. You should also choose logical file names and categories. Once you know how to organize your files, you can gather those documents and upload them to the VDR.

Once you have uploaded all of the files required, you can invite investors or colleagues to the data room and start your work on the documents. But prior to that, be sure to double-check access levels. Most data rooms feature a View as function which allows for a convenient check of all roles and permissions.

Final thoughts

While virtual data rooms may seem complicated at the start, you should be able to create an organized and workable index of all your documents ready for sharing, simply by following the tips above. While choosing the right data room may take some time, all you need is a clear plan to set up your data room for due diligence logically and efficiently.