A venture capital cycle virtual data room (VDR) is a platform for software that allows for secure sharing and collaboration of sensitive documents. Many companies rely on VDRs to facilitate important business processes, such as due diligence or mergers and acquisitions as well as fundraising.

While certain VDR vendors claim to to support all industries, the majority of vendors specialize in. To narrow down the choices, companies can look for vendors who offer testimonials of clients from their field and an example of the types of projects their software can handle.

Legal firms rely on VDRs to share privileged documents with attorneys, clients and third parties for litigation and business transactions. VDRs streamline the process of sharing documents between the parties involved in real estate and immovable property transactions. VDRs are used by private equity funds to communicate with their auditors, limited partners and management of the portfolio company.

Businesses in the financial and banking industry should search for an VDR that has a user-friendly interface, multi-language support, and integration with their existing IT systems. They should also take into consideration the kinds of files and folders that they need to share and store. The vendor should also provide various pricing options, including per-storage, per-page and a flat-rate monthly fee. Some vendors also provide a free trial or tiered pricing structure that permits users to test out the service before making a decision to sign. A good VDR is simple to use and comes with simple interfaces that combine robust features that meet the needs of different industries.