Digital data room software has become indispensable for many businesses. Demand breeds supply, so you will come across a huge number of providers when looking for one. But choosing the exact product you need is quite a task.
And this is not a question of good or bad vendors. Many of them offer top-class services. However, you have to pick a secure data room that will ideally fit your abilities and goals. A Free Trial option is the only way to check how it will actually integrate into your business.
Surely, you may use expert lists of the top virtual data room free trial solutions to make your choice. But to ensure it is indeed sensible, you have to understand all the features your targeted VDR has. This blog will help you with it.
What is a Virtual Dataroom?
Simply stated, a virtual data room (VDR) is a digital repository where one can keep their documentation. But the functional capabilities of this repository are much wider. The software represents a digital variant of the traditional physical data room. As against it, electronic data room software has improved characteristics in many respects.
The most obvious benefits include the ability to interact with business partners and share important information with them without the necessity to take business trips. It will definitely save you time and costs. However, there are other options you should factor in:
- Advanced security measures;
- Ease of use;
- Functionality;
- The ability to adapt to any business need;
- Support & Free Trial.
These are the main principles on which the work of reliable virtual data rooms is based. They allow conducting such massive operations as:
- M&A;
- Different types of due diligence;
- Fundraising;
- The IPO procedure;
- Licensing operations;
- Strategic Partnership;
- Board communication, etc.
The security and simplicity of these procedures are crucial for startups as well as for businesses working in such industries as technology, law, investment banking, life science, etc. Be sure that a top-class electronic data room can provide both of these options.
Why Does Free Trial Matter?
The list of available features varies from vendor to vendor. Even when you know which of them your company needs and find the exact digital data room with the necessary set of tools, there is still a possibility that this solution won’t fit your business.
Alternatively, the option of Free Trial allows you to test each feature in practice. Top vendors offer mainly from 7 to 14 days of free access to all of them. So, you and the users of your VDR will be able to try its ease of use and general functionality.
Which Features Does a Digital Data Room Software Offer
A free trial is significant, however, you cannot base your choice only on it. Instead, you should understand its possibilities and choose online data room software with the features you need. And a free trial in addition. Let’s list some of the most useful features and capacities you might need in your VDR.
Security
There cannot be too much security. From all solutions available at the moment, virtual datarooms are the most advanced in terms of security options. The key components of the soft include:
- Tier 1 data centers to store and back up the documents;
- Modern methods of encryption (256-bit is the minimum).
This equipment is enough to protect your competitive information. Neither loss due to a server’s downtime nor hacker attack can endanger the safety of your documents when you use a VDR with proper security measures.
Document Management
One usually assesses the usability of an electronic data room by its tools designed to manage documents. Here are some of them:
- Bulk uploads;
- Drag-and-drop;
- E-Signature;
- In-text search;
- All formats supported, and more.
Mind that the storage size is also important here. You should identify how large it should be to suit your business needs before you proceed with selecting a proper provider.
Digital Rights Management
One of the biggest problems with a physical data room is that sensitive information contained in papers can be accessed by the wrong people. While using a digital data room, you can forget about this problem thanks to the following instruments:
- Redaction – it will help you to remove secret information from your papers.
- Dynamic watermarks can protect your documents and files from unauthorized use.
- View-only is the option that prevents your documents from downloading and printing.
So, these options also serve as a security means but you can use them manually.
Access Management
You may want to conduct a complex transaction that requires interaction with various specialists as well as prospective partners. Data room services include the ability to add as many guests as you need, however, how to ensure the safety of your documentation?
A nice solution will be able to meet this challenge. Among its features, you may expect to find such access management tools as:
- Two-factor authentication;
- Multilevel access rights;
- Personalized confidentiality agreements, and others.
No matter who enters your VDR, they will have to pass the authentication procedure and agree with every rule you have set.
Audit Logs
This is the usual name of the option that allows monitoring of the activities conducted in your digital data room. The top providers tend to offer numerous reports with multicolor statistics.
Top Vendors With Free Trial
You may need a light VDR with a minimum of options as well as a complex solution with project management tools and other extras. There are great providers offering free trials in all these categories. Here are some of the leading companies in the market having this option on the list.
- IntraLinks
- DocSend
- iDeals
- Drooms
- ContactZen
- Digify
- Ansarada
So, which will be the best virtual data room vendor with a free trial option for your business? Once again, the answer depends on your budget, goals, and other business needs. However, providers with the free trial offer deserve your close attention since you can find a more balanced and efficient solution with their help.
