Six key companies in the global Virtual Data Room niche

With rapid technological advancements year to year, the inevitable growth in popularity of the virtual data rooms (VDR) has only been accelerated by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

With the increasing popularity, the virtual data room market size is set to reach USD 4.09 Billion by 2028, a significant jump from USD 1.38 Billion in 2020.

With the world switching to virtual space for meetings and gatherings, a lot of professionals have turned to the best data room providers around the globe to conduct their business. Let’s explore why.

Opportunities offered by virtual data rooms

Through virtual data rooms, people can receive authorized access to various documents relating to the process of mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

Traditionally, this was done through physical rooms, with interested parties getting access to a data room one at a time – while a VDR can be opened to several different bidders simultaneously without any issues.

The trend of companies moving away from physical data rooms was further sped up by the global pandemic, where businesses saw the opportunity to utilize VDRs.

For any company doing a virtual data room comparison, it is a no-brainer that the virtual space is considerably more convenient, efficient, and secure – everything that modern-day businesses appreciate.

The largest data room providers globally

Globally, there are many large companies that provide VDR services to businesses. Some specialize in catering to niche markets, like finance, IT, retail, etc.

Key VDR providers may be found all around the world. With the rising popularity in the Asia-Pacific, there is a steady growth in demand for virtual data rooms in the region.

Considering the global nature of the market, all major companies providing data room software are spread across different regions.

Let’s have a look at some of the key players in the industry.

1. Citrix Systems

Founded in 1989, this US-based cloud software company is one of the largest providers of online data room software, among other services. With revenue of 3.23 billion USD in 2020, the company is active in over 100 countries and has over 100 million users.

Citrix Systems acquired ShareFile, a provider of VDR services, in 2011. Citrix now provides virtual data rooms to its users under the ShareFile brand.

Citrix ShareFile Virtual Data Rooms has amassed a geographically diverse and high-profile clientele over the years, owing to its well-known brand and reputation.

2. CapLinked

Another US-based company, CapLinked, unlike Citrix, primarily focuses on providing virtual data rooms. Founded in 2010, the company has average annual revenue of over 3 million USD per year.

Though smaller in size, the California-based company has a dedicated user base thanks to its user-friendly, easy-to-use interface and good reputation.

Aside from virtual data rooms, they provide secure cloud-based services that allow organizations to share and edit documents while also making communication easier.

3. Drooms

A German company founded in 2001, Drooms is one of the largest providers of data room services in Europe and worldwide.

Spearheaded by the M&A experts, the company started out providing physical data rooms, but eventually digitalized the process, being one of the pioneers in VDR services in Europe.

Most significantly, in 2018, Drooms was one of the first companies to utilize blockchain technology for virtual data rooms, making them even more secure than before. Drooms has captured worldwide attention in the VDR market, with 4.6 million USD in revenue in 2020.

4. EthosData

EthosData provides VDR solutions to customers worldwide. The company, based in the U.K. was founded in 2007 by M&A dealmakers.

The company provides expert support who can set up the VDR, providing the most efficient M&A data room structure for the customers’ needs.

With over 100,000 users worldwide, EthosData is well-regarded for providing secure solutions for business deals and excellent customer support.

5. Intralinks

Another US-based fintech giant headquartered in New York City, Intralinks has offices all over the world and has housed over 34 trillion USD worth of transactions since its inception in 1996.

Aside from offering electronic data room services, the company experts help their customers set up and launch their VDRs.

With over 25 years of experience, Intralinks has amassed an impressive customer portfolio that includes globally recognized brands such as Starbucks, L’Oréal, and more.

6. Ansarada

Ansarada was started in 2005 in Australia after its founders found themselves in a tough spot with a lack of quality VDR options for them.

Since then, the company has hosted over 24,000 deals on its platform with over 1 trillion USD in deal value.

The SaaS platform has long surpassed its original borders of Down Under and has been a go-to virtual data room provider for customers all over the world.

The future of the virtual data room services

While the COVID pandemic has wreaked havoc on the global economy in recent years, a handful of industries thrived as a result of the increasing need for innovative solutions to limited mobility and the shift to virtual space.

One such industry was the virtual data room market. Large corporations throughout the world have long recognized the benefits of adopting VDRs for M&A transactions and other purposes, but it appears that the rest of the business world has caught up to the practice as a result of the pandemic.

While the pandemic might come to an end, the changes it made to peoples’ and businesses’ day-to-day activities will surely remain for much longer.

Realizing that there’s no need to travel and meet in real life to make large transactions and acquisitions have made making business deals a lot faster.

All businesses want to improve their efficiency and having a secure online space where they can conduct important financial transactions and store sensitive corporate information is one method to do so.

Moving forward, through more utilization of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology, the VDR industry is only set to grow even more in the coming decades.

Offering a never-before-seen level of data security, virtual data rooms built on blockchain technology will soon dominate the market, making them a go-to solution for large mergers and acquisitions worldwide.