FAQs

Data rooms are secure spaces for reviewing corporate documentation. In the past, these were physical locations, housing reams, and reams of paper. M&A deal teams use them to safely share sensitive information.

Virtual data rooms serve the same purpose as traditional ones. But rather than filling buildings with paper, everything is now securely housed online. M&A deal teams use them to power due diligence. But now they can provide so much more than simple storage space. Now they automate time-consuming processes. They allow global collaboration. And they give valuable insights that help close deals, faster.

This is the phase of a deal where the buyer gets to review every aspect of the seller’s business. Only then can they decide how much they’re prepared to pay. This means giving them access to all the records and contracts of the business.

Use a virtual data room (VDR). Better yet, go beyond a data room with Datasite. Secure content and automate tasks with imbedded capabilities like redaction tools. Simplify processes and streamline workflows. Get due diligence done.

During due diligence, buyers will have many questions about the assets they’re reviewing. There could easily be up to 500 questions on any given project. Sellers need to give accurate and complete answers to these questions. Only then can the deal move forward.

In the past, sell teams answered questions using email and spreadsheets. But that takes an incredible amount of time and brings a lot of unnecessary risk to any deal. We introduced integrated Q&A to our virtual data rooms in 2006. Now you can manage all Q&A in one place, securely and efficiently.

You might think that consumer-grade file sharing systems, such as Box, Dropbox™ and Google Drive™, could do the job. After all, they do market themselves as “low-cost solutions for the high-stakes challenges of M&A due diligence.” Sound good? Repeated high-profile security incidents say otherwise. And good luck getting hold of a file sharer when you’re not paying for the service but trying to participate in the bidding. The challenges of complex M&A due diligence demand a more secure, purpose-built VDR application.

The needs of M&A deals are very different from the needs of the general public. We designed Datasite based on insights from thousands of dealmakers. Its tools and features power more than 14,000+ deals a year. All are protected by rigorous security and compliance. It’s backed by world-class support, all day, every day, anywhere in the world. And you can rest safe in the knowledge that there’s an audit trail tested by the industry’s leading regulators.

You have plenty of options to choose from. But Datasite is the only data room provider that meets all four criteria to make your deal a success.

• Unparalleled expertise: Trust the industry’s top experts. We’ve been an integral part of the M&A industry for decades. That’s expertise we can share, to help you close deals, faster
  
• Powerful technology: Make Datasite your own. From automated redaction to streamlined Q&A. From eye-opening analytics to branded reporting. These are the tools to keep your deal moving
  
• Rigorous security: Protect your data with the best security in the business. Whether it’s user access, data at rest, or data in transit, we’ve got you covered
  
• Unmatched service: Enjoy first-class support, anywhere in the world. All day, every day. Whatever you need, you can be sure we’ll never leave you hanging. In 20+ languages

We made a deal. That shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all, we’ve been doing it since 1968. But deals have changed, so we have too – Merrill Corp is now Datasite. The only thing that hasn’t changed is our focus on you and your deals. It’s just that now you’ll make them in Datasite.

Close deals, faster, with our decades of experience at your service. Our deep global expertise is ready to support your needs around the world. It took the insights of thousands of you to build Datasite. So, you can be sure it covers every aspect of your deal. Power due diligence with pioneering technology. Create seamless connections across stakeholders. And bank on ironclad security. From secure content sharing and disclosure, to regulated communications and compliance services, let Datasite provide the solutions. So, you can focus on closing the deal.

As a global provider, Datasite works with thousands of clients, based all around the world. We’re headquartered in the United States, but you’ll find us throughout North and South America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. View all our locations  here.

Designed to support financial transactions and reporting, Datasite covers every aspect of the M&A deal process. Take collaboration up a notch. Discover a better approach to marketing. And simplify communications in regulated industries. More specifically, Datasite serves investment banking, corporates, private equity, and law firms.

Datasite is the market leader when it comes to executing corporate and company actions. Whether you’re dealing with acquisitions, bankruptcy, or divestitures; exchange offers, mergers, or privatizations; reorganizations, spin-offs, or tender offers. The solution of choice is Datasite.

Hosted in North America, Europe, and Australia, Datasite runs on hundreds of servers per region and operates in highly available autoscaling Kubernetes clusters. And being based on Microsoft Azure, it is completely scalable. So, there are no storage limits. No matter how big your deal, we’ve got you covered.

No one wants a nasty surprise when it comes to billing. Our prices are completely transparent and all-inclusive. There are no surprise add-ons and zero hidden costs. Contact us and request a quote for any of our products and services.

Access our SLAs here.

Sign a statement of work, and we’ll assign a Datasite project manager to get your project started right away. In a matter of minutes, you’ll be ready to access the most trusted M&A platform for all your deal lifecycle needs. Set permissions, invite users, and you’re away.

Make deals wherever you like. Datasite is device and browser agnostic. It’s a secure web-based app that works on Windows machines or on a Mac.  Keep your deal moving using Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, or Apple Safari. You can also download the Datasite mobile app and manage your deal on your iOS or Android device.

Everything you need is there in the SaaS app. No downloads. No add-ons.

No, you’ll need an internet connection to access the app.

Yes, look for the Datasite mobile app in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Keep all your deals (and the people behind them) in reach. And you can be sure your files won’t fall into the wrong hands, thanks to facial recognition and fingerprint scanning.

There’s no limit to what you can store. Hundreds of thousands of pages? Hundreds of gigabytes? Knock yourself out.

Upload files of up to 10GB, or zip files of up to 50GB.

We listened to you. Thousands of you. Industry experts – actual users – who told us exactly what was needed to make closing deals easier and faster than ever before. Build your virtual data room quickly and easily. From logging on for the first time, to closing your project when the deal’s done. Discover unparalleled ease of use, faster response times, and more powerful tools.

You don’t want updates to get in the way of your deal. But new features mean more power and insights to make that deal. That’s why we built Datasite in a way that allows continuous innovation and continuous delivery (CI/CD). Microservices and APIs make updates quickly and easily, without taking the system offline. No more quarterly releases. No more blackout periods. Just seamless updates so you always have the latest version.

Rather than being one big program, microservices break an app up into smaller, modular services. Developers update these smaller services independently. That means they can make updates without having to shut down the whole system. Writing software is much easier using best practices and a unified set of tools. An application program interface (API) is just that. Using APIs, developers build structured software that’s easier to maintain and update.

Scalable. Powerful. Secure. What’s not to love? Datasite is a secure SaaS application, utilizing Microsoft's Azure Cloud Services. Not only does this give you all the power of cloud computing, letting you scale Datasite to suit your needs. It also combines $1 billion of Microsoft’s market-leading security with our own protocols and access controls. Your deal has never been in safer hands.

When housing hundreds of thousands of files, you need the most powerful search there is. That’s why we use Elasticsearch. Built to meet the needs of modern search, it handles large file repositories at incredible speeds. Get the answers you need without the wait.

Download our  Datasite security overview PDF. There you’ll find information on data, systems, network, and infrastructure security. As well as a discussion on global regulatory compliance.

Yes. Just like you, we take security seriously. And that includes integrated IRM. Set revoke access to downloaded documents by role. That includes all Microsoft Office and PDF files. Enable watermarking and all other files will download as branded PDFs.

As a multi-tenant cloud application, Datasite uses the latest cloud security best practices. It:

• Stores and maintains user information, application data, and logs separately
• Treats passwords with cryptographic hash algorithms
• Encrypts at-rest files with AES 256-bit encryption and regularly creates backups
• Protects in-transit data via Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.2 protocol
• Captures, analyzes, and actions events in real time
• Accesses files only upon request, supported by document access review and change management processes
• Begins the purging of all project files 30 days after completion of the project, You can preserve and access your project indefinitely beyond this time by using Datasite Archive.

Datasite is GDPR compliant in the EU and UK. What’s more, our working group regularly reviews, maintains, and improves our data protection policy.

• We are ISO 27001, 27017, 27018, and 27701 certified. Our processes are audited against global standards required for maintaining confidentiality, security, and integrity for all data that we hold
  
• You are always in control of your data with Datasite. You upload and manage your data, choosing the levels of user access. We can facilitate, but ultimately, it’s your data
• We store data in the United States and Europe. This allows us to maintain localization of data in the EU
• We regularly conduct privacy impact assessments and provide training on data privacy obligations. In this way, we ensure best practices are met and industry-leading solutions are implemented where personal information is concerned

We have a dedicated security organization focused entirely on protecting your data. It ensures deep risk management and strong governance throughout Datasite.

• Our products are ISO 27001, 27017, 27018, and 27701 certified
• Datasite maintains a SOC 2 Type II attestation
• Datasite is GDPR compliant
• Our infrastructure provider is ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II compliant
• Where legally possible, Datasite employees are subject to background checks, including screening for drugs, qualifications, and previous employment
• All our staff attend mandatory annual security training, including acknowledgement of security and conduct codes and non-disclosure agreements
• Our security incident response plan is tested every year. This includes external and internal notification, escalation procedures, and communication criteria
• Our disaster recovery plan is tested regularly, ensuring compliance with self-imposed timeframes and quality objectives
• The mobile app follows the data minimization principle and stores only the data required for its functionality. Mobile app doesn’t store any data room documents onto your device – each time documents are accessed from the Datasite platform

The Datasite mobile team follows secure software development lifecycle (SDLC) best practices:

• Implementing security measures at every phase of development
• Threat modeling
• Secure design, coding, and code review
• Security verification and testing of new features
• Mobile security workshops

The Datasite development team also works closely with the security engineering team to follow internal security processes, such as:

• Reviewing and verifying third-party libraries
• Dependencies management
• Vulnerabilities management
• CI/CD pipeline automation

Yes, it’s safe use Datasite mobile app on personal devices. Its security controls include:

• Mandatory device-level passcode
• Detection of unsafe environments (e.g. if the device is rooted or jailbroken)
• Detection of malware
• Supporting only recent OS versions

You can find the list of collected data types on the Datasite app's Apple App Store and Google Play pages. The mobile app doesn’t collect any data for tracking the users or advertising. Some data is shared with third-party vendors for analytics purposes to enhance the apps further. You can find additional information in the  Datasite privacy notice.

This communication is secure due to the following security features:

• Encryption to at least TLS 1.2 (or TLS 1.3 if the device supports it)
• The app can use customer-provided SSO services, including those with MFA, for advanced security of the authentication flow
• Only registered users can have access to projects and their documents
• Both the app and the backend have strict access control rules, blocking document access for non-authorized users

Datasite encourages security researchers to review the Vulnerability Disclosure Policy prior to taking any action. Findings should be submitted solely through the channels prescribed by Datasite. Datasite is committed to keeping the communication open as submissions are reviewed, evaluated, and resolved. Datasite does not operate a public bug bounty program.

Sign a statement of work and we’ll assign a Datasite project manager to your project right away. In a matter of minutes, you’ll be ready for initial document upload. Set permissions, invite users, and you’re away.

Setting roles and permissions is a sensitive process and mistakes could cost your deal. Get it right first time. Easily cascade permissions and set multiple roles using the powerful security grid. Then compare project, folder, and file settings with the intuitive graphic user interface.

Anyone with a project administrator role can add files to a project. Anyone with a limited site administrator role can also upload, rename, move, and delete files.

You can’t afford to put the wrong files up for review. Avoid costly mistakes using Datasite’s flexible publish and unpublish settings. This content staging lets project admins check content in an unpublished state. When they’re happy with everything, they can share it with buyers for review.

Yes, you can control this from inside the app. Customize it based on your needs. Choose which types of notifications you want to receive and their frequency. Instantly. Hourly. Daily.

Yes, with the choice to display it on first login or every time users open the app. Use either a standard disclaimer or create a custom option to suit your project.

Business is global – and so are we. Datasite is localized into 14 languages: English (US or UK), Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish.

Not at all. Treat yourself to a seamless user experience and an intuitive interface. No matter which application you are using, you’ll start seeing time savings right away – even if you’re a first-time user. Should you hit any problems, reach out to our expert product support specialists. They’ll get you back on track straight away.

Get up and running in no time. We spend a lot of time making the Datasite user interface as intuitive as possible. But there are always tricks and tips that let you get more from your software. Find answers fast in the Datasite Assist portal.

Reach us using email, online chat or via our online Datasite help community. You can also pick up the phone any time of the day or night, any day of the week and speak with a real person – in 20+ languages. Guaranteed to pick up in three rings. You’ll find our contact details here.

The Datasite mobile team follows secure software development lifecycle (SDLC) best practices:

• Implementing security measures at every phase of development
• Threat modeling
• Secure design, coding, and code review
• Security verification and testing of new features
• Mobile security workshops

The Datasite development team also works closely with the security engineering team to follow internal security processes, such as:

• Reviewing and verifying third-party libraries
• Dependencies management
• Vulnerabilities management
• CI/CD pipeline automation

Yes, it’s safe use Datasite mobile app on personal devices. Its security controls include:

• Mandatory device-level passcode
• Detection of unsafe environments (e.g. if the device is rooted or jailbroken)
• Detection of malware
• Supporting only recent OS versions

You can find the list of collected data types on the Datasite app's Apple App Store and Google Play pages. The mobile app doesn’t collect any data for tracking the users or advertising. Some data is shared with third-party vendors for analytics purposes to enhance the apps further. You can find additional information in the  Datasite privacy notice.

This communication is secure due to the following security features:

• Encryption to at least TLS 1.2 (or TLS 1.3 if the device supports it)
• The app can use customer-provided SSO services, including those with MFA, for advanced security of the authentication flow
• Only registered users can have access to projects and their documents
• Both the app and the backend have strict access control rules, blocking document access for non-authorized users