Google Drive as a Virtual Data Room

by a searcher from Harvard University

8 months ago

I'm already using Google products for my internal team, can anyone please explain why Google Drive isn't sufficient for due diligence doc management w/ investors? I'd prefer not to spend $1000/month on a 3rd party solution. Seems like the main concerns with Drive are about limited security (no watermarking) and compliance (limited audit trail functionality outside of "view history") but those don't seem like a big deal. Drive has all the collaboration functionality (comments, version history), plenty of storage, and with some basic folder structure it should be easily navigable/searchable. What am I missing? Will this somehow be a problem with 3rd party commercial lenders? (p.s. I've already searched Searchfunder posts, and insights on this specific topic seem thin, posting for more visibility!)

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18 comments

searcher from Santa Clara University

I've worked for several big tech companies that rely on Google Drive (including sharing docs with external parties like lawyers and auditors). I also use Google Drive in my consulting work with various companies and have not run into any major issues. Lastly, there's a team of ETA experts I engage with, and they use Google Drive for data rooms. For the price, it's an excellent collaboration suite of apps/tools.

8 months ago | like reply | 1 like

searcher from Harvard University - Harvard Business School

The bigger you go the more likely that it could be an issue, but in the low 7 figures range it's unlikely to be an issue. As others have said, investors mostly don't care, it's more about the banks and/or the selling organization; whoever has the strictest compliance requirements.

8 months ago | like reply | 0 likes

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