Virtual data rooms and M&A due diligence has a long history. Data room software technology was initially used for mergers and acquisitions and later spread to different business sectors across the globe. A virtual data room simplifies the due diligence process by reducing manual efforts, automating document management, and eradicating any communication hurdles.
The introduction of AI in virtual data rooms has made it a lot easier to organize large volumes of data, and dealmakers don’t have to worry about duplicated work. In addition to that, data analysis has become more efficient, allowing dealmakers and companies to make informed decisions in less time.
What else can AI bring to the table? How is AI-powered online data room software more effective for due diligence? Let’s find out!
What is a due diligence data room?
A due diligence virtual data room is an online document management solution that dealmakers and companies use to share due diligence documents during mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, capital raising, IPOs, etc.
In addition to due diligence, electronic data room software serves different industries in different ways. Businesses use data room services as virtual workspaces for their teams or boards. Data rooms also serve as primary data storage tools for the legal industry, the healthcare industry, and small or medium-sized businesses.
In a nutshell, the global business fraternity uses data rooms for due diligence, board communications, corporate data storage, corporate development, and record keeping. There is even a dedicated virtual data room for startups, mid-sized businesses, enterprises, and more. Beyond that, data room vendors provide customized solutions to public institutions, nonprofits, charity organizations, and government agencies as well.
AI-powered features in due diligence virtual data rooms
AI has been a true revolution that has made the due diligence process more efficient and error-free. Here are some top AI features that you can easily find in the best data rooms available in the market.
Automated contract summaries
AI-powered virtual data rooms allow you to extract accurate summaries of highly important information from legal documents in the contract. Moreover, this feature can be used in any document type in any language.
All you have to do is to create a summary form and select the fields you want to add to it. Then, you will have to highlight some of the relevant text in specific documents. After that, AI will find examples of semantically similar content in the document to create summarized data. It saves valuable time when you are dealing with large data volumes.
Smart document review
Smart document review allows you to skim through documents such as legal contracts in exceptionally less time. For instance, you can search for a specific segment or portion of the contract by simply entering a keyword or phrase to initiate the query.
Once you give the command, the data room will start generating relevant results which you can easily examine. This way, you don’t have to open different documents and search your relevant area manually.
Smart indexing
Smart indexing allows you to automatically categorize your data and send them to the relevant folders. It works in two ways:
- AI data room software will pick your current document categorization from the source and organize data accordingly.
- You will categorize 10%-20% of documents manually, and the data room will read the pattern and make further categorization based on that.
Either way, you don’t have to upload tonnes of due diligence documents manually.
Data analysis
AI-powered virtual data rooms can improve the chances of successfully completing a transaction by providing handy insights. For example, the data room keeps a record of the documents opened and viewed by users in the VDR. It allows sellers or dealmakers to understand the preferences of potential buyers, and they can categorize documents as per buyers’ interests.
Benefits of using virtual data rooms for due diligence
Due diligence is generally the longest part of any M&A transaction; virtual data rooms make it shorter. Here are the top benefits of a due diligence virtual data room.
- Faster data access. Online data rooms are cloud-based solutions which means they are accessible from any place in the world. Dealmakers or other parties don’t have to be in their offices or physical data rooms to examine due diligence data. They can do it from their homes or anywhere else in the world. Modern-day virtual data room providers allow access through mobile applications.
- Data protection. Data rooms are not traditional online data-storing tools. They are certified data management solutions that protect due diligence data from internal and external threats and ensure full control over data flow in the VDR.
- Cost-effectiveness. Lastly, data rooms can shrink administrative expenses by a huge margin. Using data rooms means less paper documentation and, thus, less printing, paper, and document distribution costs.
Final words
The introduction of AI-powered features like smart indexing, automated contract summaries, and smart document review has reduced the manual input needed, thus saving valuable time for legal advisors and dealmakers.
Also, virtual data rooms provide the much need security during due diligence. Some of the worth mentioning virtual data room providers include iDeals, Imprima, Merrill, and Ansarada.
