Secure data exchange: Virtual data rooms on the rise
Even small companies these days regularly operate across different sites, sharing sensitive files and data with colleagues, customers and/or suppliers. However, confidential documents are still often sent in unencrypted form by e-mail or using cloud storage services such as Dropbox, Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive – although these solutions do not fully meet the required standards of data protection, IT security and compliance.
Yet secure platforms for digital data exchange and online collaboration do exist and satisfy all these demands. They are known as virtual data rooms, or VDRs. A survey conducted by digital promotion agency Bitkom in June 2024 found that 45 percent of companies have already discovered the benefits of VDRs. Bitkom reports that 34 percent plan to use a data room in the future or are currently discussing the issue. Meanwhile, 11 percent of firms are already working with data rooms – and reaping the rewards.
What are the benefits of a virtual data room?
A virtual data room is a secure cloud-based platform developed specially to store, share and manage confidential business information and documents. VDRs such as the one from netfiles are extremely secure. Leading-edge encryption technologies such as AES-256 and accredited data centers, for example, ensure that all information is reliably protected from data loss and unauthorized access at all times.
Granular access rights permit precise control of who can view, edit or download what documents. Additional protection is provided by watermarks and the option of redacting (blacking out) sensitive content.
Via a standard web browser, authorized users can access all documents from anywhere and at any time. Central data management also does away with the confusing exchange of e-mails that so often ends in communication chaos.
Importantly, netfiles data rooms provide legal certainty by fully complying with the strict requirements imposed by Germany’s Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG) and the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This certainty is rooted in functions such as logging all activities: when the data room was accessed, for how long a document was edited and who made changes.
From due diligence to real estate management to client communication
The benefits of virtual data rooms are open to companies of all sizes where handling sensitive and confidential data is ‘business as usual’. File sharing, efficient document management and a protected virtual space for collaboration across different locations and between different companies are all critical elements of a VDR. Virtual data rooms have proven to be especially useful in the following contexts:
Mergers and acquisitions (M&As), due diligence audits and IPOs: for the provision of confidential business documents, where necessary for multiple parties in parallel
Real estate industry: to manage property portfolios, including blueprints, images and contracts
Construction industry: as a project room to support planning, management and controlling activities, or as freely definable workspaces in which to develop ideas
Professional practices: to provide secure communication between clients and their lawyers, tax advisors, auditors or management consultants
Healthcare: to protect the exchange of patient and research data – in the context of clinical trials, for example
Virtual data rooms have likewise proven their worth when working from home, for meeting management and to facilitate collaboration between governing bodies. Why? Because in every situation, a virtual data room is the secure alternative to e-mail, FTP or cloud storage services such as Dropbox.
No plugging, just playing: Ease of use in a standard web browser
With netfiles data rooms, there is no need to install any software: a web browser is sufficient. The intuitive user interface has the look and feel of the familiar Windows File Manager or Apple Finder, which makes it easy to get started and eliminates the need for expensive training.
The future belongs to data rooms
Data security and data management requirements are growing ever stricter, more and more people are working from home, and teams are increasingly collaborating around the globe. As these trends unfold, virtual data rooms are continuing to grow in importance. Only in these rooms can even the most sensitive information be exchanged securely; and only here can collaboration across different companies, industries and locations be managed efficiently.
Is there anything else you would like to know?
Would you like to learn about how you can use a netfiles data room for your organization? Then feel free to get in touch. We look forward to hearing from you!