Datarooms have become prevalent in most M&A transactions in the last few years.  However, once in a while, we still hear arguments against using a dataroom.  The  main ones are:

“I don’t like using a dataroom, I hate to read documents on the screen”

Reviewing deal documentation on a computer screen can be inefficient. Many users stated that their speed efficiency declines when they read on the computer screen as compared to when they read on paper. Staring at a computer screen can be tiring to the eye.

Some virtual dataroom providers limit their security only allowing users to see the information in a viewer.  We believe that it is much more efficient to leverage technology solutions that allow users to download and print documents while keeping all documents secured using dynamic watermarking and remote document control.

“I don’t want to lose control of our documentation”

There still seems to be the perception that if you share your confidential documents online, you are losing control of what you share. That would be true if you email your documents to anyone. However, most Virtual Data Room providers protect your documents even when you share them online allowing you in some cases to remotely revoke access to documents.

“I don’t like using a dataroom, it is too slow”

Internet access and speeds vary widely by region.  In some cases, viewing a dataroom document on a slow internet connection can be painful.  This issues is decreasing daily as access improves globally.  However, good dataroom providers will overcome even those issues with simple and fast platforms.