We are a small company looking to use a virtual data room and we look at some partnering opportunities. Are there any recommendations? What is typical cost? We are pretty simple. Not a lot of documents...really looking at it more for the security and control. Thanks for your help.
Virtual Data Rooms
Answers
Online storage websites can act as a simple data room if you use it in a planned, controlled manner. Box.net and dropbox.com are the two most well-known among many.
You can arrange documents in folders organized by subject. You can grant and revoke access to individuals on a folder by folder basis.
Cost is free for small amounts of storage. Annual subscriptions are required as storage quantities increase.
True online data rooms provide much more functionality, but at a higher cost: Indexing, controlled access, usage logs, controlled copy and print functions. Usage logs record who accessed what documents when and for how long. If you are providing documents to potential acquirers of your business, usage logs can be very helpful to gauge interest levels of various viewers.
Merrill Datasite and Venue from RR Donnelly are two of the best known commercial virtual data rooms among many.
I personally use Dropbox and have love it especially working remotely. I can access my files anywhere at any time. Unfortunately for me, I have exceeded my file space and am going to need to consider alternate options.
Is there really a need for a "data room"? Depending on the use and sensitivity of data, I would also look at the FREE Google docs or MS Suite online (that you may already have and use) where you can share/access documents with option to choose what people (that you share it to) can do to the documents. Access can also be revoked and edits to documents recorded or tracked. You can just make a separate folder.
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