To learn all the facts regarding important events like mergers and acquisitions, or capital raising, you will have to sort through tens thousands of highly-confidential documents. Unfortunately, in the past physical documents were the only way to access all the information needed.

The positive side is that modern due diligence data rooms make it simple for interested parties to work on files simultaneously without risking security or having sensitive information exposed accidentally. What can you do to determine which ones are worth the cost if you compare them? Look for a combination of basic and advanced features. Look for a user-friendly interface that encourages collaboration and keeps everybody on track, and look for smart tools such as personally-identifiable watermarks, a unique document tracking mechanism perfect for M&A due diligence processes, and a full audit trail of all file activity.

Another important feature to look for is the capability to customize access permissions for different groups of users. This lets you set read, download, and print privileges for specific participants within the project. Then, you can ensure that sensitive files stay protected from any malicious external activity, internal mistakes, or accidental exposures.

The best data rooms online can also help you create detailed reports of all file actions within your project. This includes who has viewed the files and when, who performed which actions on what files, and how a data room can help businesses the frequency at which certain files have been downloaded or printed. With this information, you can get a clear picture of your due diligence data room usage and optimize your use of the tool for future projects.