May 2022 marks the four-year anniversary of GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), a landmark piece of legislation that takes a hard stance on protecting the data privacy of all those within the EU.

Four years on and data protection remains essential for dealmakers. Why? What are the risks if you don’t have the right security in place and don’t comply with GDPR? How do you make sure your deal data is properly protected? And how does that benefit you and your deal in the end?

The risks
Every M&A deal involves the exchange of a large amount of data, much of which is protected personal information (PII), such as employee phone numbers, National Tax ID numbers, and contact information of key partners. GDPR has a lot of requirements for the treatment and protection of this data. When you have a lot of data moving between different places, your risk increases. Are you able to track everywhere that information is being sent? Are you confident the data can’t be accessed by outside parties, especially those like hackers with malicious intents?

Security and compliance, especially for the data room hosting the large amounts of information, make the difference between a smooth deal and the ultimate nightmare – an expensive fine or a very public leak.

The benefits
Working on a deal is high pressure and high stress. Regulations like GDPR only increase this. Having a partner you can trust is crucial to managing the changing landscape of security and compliance. Before working with any data room provider, it’s important to ensure they meet security, privacy, and compliance standards. Our handy checklist can help you find the right data room for your deal.

Datasite has invested heavily in its technology to ensure your deal information remains secure. Our team has done the heavy lifting to ensure we meet the highest standards of security, and it doesn’t stop there. We are continuously testing our systems and enhancing our security to ensure we stay ahead of the game.

Security and compliance, especially for the data room hosting the large amounts of information, make the difference between a smooth deal and the ultimate nightmare – an expensive fine or a very public leak.

Our tools provide increased security and control over your deal. For instance, our redaction and permissioning tools give the deal team fine-grain control over the information that is shared in the deal. It also allows deal teams to quickly and easily pivot. Share more information as the deal progresses. Pull back access if a prospective buyer backs out. All while complying with GDPR.

We also recognize that most leaks happen due to human error. After hours spent redacting, someone might overlook critical information. One mix-up with an attachment can put sensitive information into the wrong hands. We’ve been in this business for over 50 years, and know these mistakes happen. That’s why we’ve also invested in tools and technology to help streamline processes and avoid errors. At every point of the deal. 

The details
Privacy, compliance, and security are central to everything we do at Datasite. We have embedded security at every level: platform, processes, and people.

Our products are ISO 27001, 27017, and 27018 certified, and obtain an SSAE 16 SOC 2 Type 2 attestation annually. Our infrastructure provider is ISO 27001 and SOC Type II compliant. All data is hosted in Microsoft Azure and we have regional data storage.

We’ve even created industry-leading automation for monitoring, testing, and deployment. This means that you can rest easy knowing your deal is protected by security that is the best in the business.

Additionally, Datasite’s tools and features aid organizations in keeping data secure and compliant. By offering one secure environment for all deal activity, including sourcing, marketing, preparation, due diligence, negotiation, closing, PMI, and value capture, data never leaves the secure space during your deal.

Granular document security and a robust audit trail down to the page level ensure you know exactly who has access to all information. Advanced watermarking protects documents from unauthorized copying. Redaction AI uses pattern recognition to find key terms or data types to ensure nothing is missed. Integrated Q&A allows you to maintain Q&A history within the platform and ensures answers go to the intended audience.

Minimize risk and stress, maximum outcomes
We recognize that GDPR can be an added stress for dealmaking. But working with Datasite means one less thing to worry about. Our data rooms check all the boxes, from security and compliance to our service and technology. Ensuring a smooth and compliant deal.