UNITED STATES—Virtual data room is a platform that uses the cloud to store and transfer files. However, this is not the only function of such platforms: they also allow to hold virtual conferences, edit documents, control access rights to important files, collect statistics, and so on. VDR is an indispensable technology for modern business and a great investment.

​Why should Canadian businesses invest in virtual data rooms?

VDR technology is a great investment, and for good reason.

  1. Data room services save not only money, but also team time and effort, thanks to which they quickly pay for themselves.
  2. VDRs focus on operational security and reliable protection of corporate and personal data. It is obvious that investments in security are always profitable – your company data will be protected on several levels, which will save your business from possible risks and losses. Electronic data room security options include data encryption, activity logging, customizable levels of access to documents and a strict confidentiality policy.
  3. Professional VDRs make it possible to simplify and automate the most complex processes – transactions, closing deals, mergers and acquisitions, and much more. This significantly reduces possible risks and speeds up the processes themselves.
  4. Virtual data rooms make all business processes not only faster and more secure, but also more mobile. This is especially true after the pandemic, when more and more companies prefer a hybrid or fully remote form of work. Most of today’s data room software has versions for smartphones and tablets – to ensure maximum mobility and the ability to work anytime from anywhere in the world.

These are the main reasons why investing in VDRs is profitable and promising. All of the above reasons are relevant to both global and Canadian companies. Canada is one of the most important regions in VDR development – both in terms of consumption and software production.

So which products are worth investing in first? Which data rooms are considered the most functional and safe?

​Best VDR providers for Canadian businesses: a brief data room review

There are many data room providers offering software on the global market. Which of them are the most popular in Canada? Let’s compare virtual data rooms from different vendors and consider their features and benefits.

  1. Firmex. Canada’s leading provider of data room software. The company’s head office is located in Toronto and the London office is responsible for the distribution of the product in the European market. Firmex is a versatile platform that is suitable for a wide range of industries, from medicine and pharmaceuticals to mining. It offers the widest      range of industry solutions: mergers and acquisitions, post-merger integration, bankruptcy, licensing, restructuring, due diligence, clinical trials and much more. Firmex supports various document formats and provides full document security with features such as watermarking, 256-bit SSL/TLS encryption, document access time setting, viewing and editing permissions. The company also offers a 14-day free Data Room trial.
  2. iDeals. This platform offers comprehensive solutions for a multitude of processes, from mergers and acquisitions to clinical trials and licensing. iDeals supports virtually all existing text and image formats and supports multilingual documents. Security is ensured by technologies such as 256-bit SSL/TLS encryption, set document access times, customizable watermarks, download and copy bans, and more. The platform regularly backs up documents and checks content for viruses. To make working with non-text files easier, iDeals features OCR – Optical Character Recognition. There is a free 30-day trial for this data room.
  3. Intralinx. This online data room software consistently ranks among the leaders in all reviews of similar products. Intralinx has literally everything that can be useful in business processes and working with documents. This platform helps to implement almost any industry-specific solutions in various areas. Data security in Intralinx is top-notch – it is ensured by 256-bit SSL/TLS encryption, customizable watermarks, the possibility of prohibiting copying and downloading and much more. The company provides a 99.9% uptime guarantee: under all conditions, Intralinx will work stably and without failures. Regular backups and virus checks will also help keep your data safe.

​What to look for when choosing a virtual room

When choosing software, you should pay attention to several basic parameters that determine the further work with the virtual room:

  • A quality provider should offer 256-bit data encryption, regular backups, and anti-virus scanning. This is the minimum set to ensure document security.
  • Intuitive interface. This is a very important, because different people will use the virtual data room, and not all of them are required to have a technical education. A simple and accessible interface will greatly speed up the work and facilitate communication.
  • The ability to work with different operating systems and devices. The more operating systems a platform supports, the better. Having a separate mobile version would be an additional advantage.

Virtual data rooms can be called the technology of the future without exaggeration. They are the most functional tools to facilitate and accelerate business processes, and they are definitely worth investing in. These investments will definitely pay off!