Datasite Diligence Virtual Data Room vs. Firmex Virtual Data Room

Datasite is well suited for organizing large quantities of a variety of documents into folders. It is not as well suited for Xcel, which generally requires downloading in order to review, but there are quick preview options for Word and PDF items.

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Firmex Virtual Data Room is well suited to complex mergers and acquisition transactions. For example, we recently used it when acting for a potential purchaser involved in an auction transaction for a business unit worth approximately $1 billion. In that scenario, the vendor uploaded all of the documents to the data room and each of the bidders (and each of their lawyers, outside accountants, etc.) had access to the same documents. There were over 1000 documents uploaded to the data room (the index was around 100 pages I think), so it was a good way of managing such a large volume of documents, and such a large volume of users.

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• User-friendly interface. We download datarooms for a single deal over 30+ times per deal (as the dataroom gets updated), so the interface being easy to access / navigate is extremely important.
• Features: Datasite Diligence Virtual Data Room gives great tools beyond just downloading a dataroom. Easy notifications when something gets downloaded, two factor authentication, ability to search data room or filter for recently uploaded files, etc.
• Organization: A lot of data rooms do not allow you to keep organized file paths. When you download a dataroom it often looses all the index folder names. Datasite Diligence Virtual Data Room keeps files extremely organized and is always available.

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• Status updates
• Visual display
• Organization capabilities

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• Major feature I noticed in other datarooms that's missing in Datasite Diligence Virtual Data Room is bulk download feature. I can select multiple files/folders under a parent folder, however, I would like to be able to download selected files/folders from among multiple folders.
• Another feature I'd love to see is a "New*" menu item in Q&A, just like we have in the Documents section correctly. I know I can still use the date to filter the latest answered questions, but having the "New" option makes it a lot easier to do a quick filter. My idea is that this option will show all activity that I haven't looked at since my last login, irrespective of date.

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• This is a bit of a stretch, because as far as I know, no data room provides this, but I think it would be interesting if they added a feature to manage supplemental due diligence requests. In almost every transaction I've been involved with, the buyer has supplemental due diligence requests, either because the seller did not want to provide a document or because they did not think it was sufficiently material (or they just forgot!). These supplemental requests get handled separately, using a Word or Excel document, but I think it would be nice if it could be handled directly in the data room. The reason this would be handy is that you could include dynamics links in the questions (Page 2 is missing from Document 1.1.2 - and then there is a link right to Document 1.1.2) and in the answers (See Document 3.3.4 for the missing financial statements - and then there is a link right to the missing document).
• This is partly on the users, but I do not like it when a data room allows you to delete a document without there being an ongoing reference to the deleted document. It makes it hard for the other side (the purchaser) to keep straight the numbering of the due diligence documents. At a minimum, the software should just keep the numbering of the documents the same with an "Intentionally Deleted" next to the deleted document.

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It is my go to data room provider and I am super comfortable using it. I don't think I would want to use anything else since I can't trust them like I can trust Datasite

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Tough to figure out at first but after using the platform for some time, you can get used to Datasite Diligence Virtual Data Room pretty quickly. Would be great to have more of a tutorial up front to better be able to navigate the software, especially starting off as the data dealt with is sensitive.

Great customer service and prompt responses to requests.

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Files download and upload very quickly.

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Customer service has always solved my issues in a relatively short period of time.

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Excellent product and resource.

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As a technology diligence specialist, on the buyside I'll use whatever the target company has chosen. On the sell side, if asked for a recommendation, I'll usually point clients towards the most suitable solution for their scale and the complexity of the deal.

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I think Firmex has one of the best visual displays -- I like its basic user interface a lot. It's easy to recommend that clients use it who have no prior datasite experience because they onboard quickly. It is far more intuitive than Dropbox and has more organizational capabilities. Merrill is a close competitor as it also offers a sleek design and user friendly interface.

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There is a bulk download, and it appears there is a bulk upload which makes it easier to get multiple files onto the platform when needed.

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As a professional services provider that leverages Datasite Diligence Virtual Data Room, Datasite is very helpful and useful.

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• Allows my organization to quickly identify new data that has been uploaded in order to quickly communicate status to clients.
• No limits on number of files or file sizes which make it a great tool for any deal, large or small.

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• Positive impact on conducting due diligence efficiently.
• Positive impact on being responsive to fast-moving transactions because of the e-mail updates when new documents get uploaded.

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