Can improving the details empower successful deals? Our recent Front of the Line technology showcase was all about leveling up your M&A process at every step. Here are the highlights of how Datasite is doing that for you - and what it can mean for your projects. 

Getting better means fixing the friction

Dealmaking - well, it's complicated. A jumble of moving parts, all jostling to slow each other down. At Datasite, we figured that addressing even the small friction points could have a snowball effect on efficiency. So we've been making things better at every step, from content assembly to deal closure.

Better for...request lists

It's standard practice to handle diligence request lists as a simple Excel file - essentially a very long shopping list, with just as much potential for missing something important. Datasite's trackers tool embeds these checklists as workflows inside the data room itself. Users can upload documents, assign responsibilities, add comments, and maintain visibility - all in one place. 

The benefits are dramatic, and immediate: not only is every task super-easy to track, but there's only ever one version of the checklist, it never leaves its secure and permissioned environment, it doesn't travel back-and-forth by email, and it links to all its related documents. So dozens of potential sources of delay simply evaporate. What's more, there's control and accountability right across deal teams. 

Better for...redaction

Redaction at the scale of a data room is too big a task for human beings alone, given the fast pace of modern M&A. But automated tools carry their own risk. Firstly, a third-party tool probably isn't anywhere near as secure as your data room, and secondly, it probably won't be M&A-specific, and so will be prone to missing sensitive data that needs redacting.  

Datasite now has built-in AI redaction, which uses automated pattern recognition to identify all the especially sensitive data in your deal documents that is not for general viewing, before you go live. 

In a few clicks, you can redact personally identifiable information (PII), commercial terms, and much more - either document by document or across an entire fileroom. You can add custom tags to redaction categories, explaining the reason for each redaction, so you can then un-redact stage by stage as the deal progresses. 

The results speak volumes: more than 100 million redactions were carried out in Datasite over the past year, with up to 80% time savings compared to manual methods.

Better for...translation

With over 60% of Datasite deals involving documents in multiple languages, being able to translate whole documents is not longer a luxury - it's a necessity. Of course, third-party tools are out - this is sensitive content that can't leave the data room, and moreover, standard translation tools aren't made for M&A-specific language, and are prone to errors. Which is why Datasite now has built-in AI translation, made for dealmaking. Even the formatting stays. 

The smart tool generates translations as separate files that you can then compare side by side with the original, using another built-in tool. Now you can ensure that absolutely nothing is lost in translation, in any sense of the word.

Better for...visibility and control

It's not just workload that makes a difference to friction - the user experience is equally vital. That's why Datasite has introduced a whole new Project Dashboard, an early-access feature designed to give deal teams real-time visibility into deal progress. With interactive tiles that highlight outstanding tasks - from unsorted inbox files to unanswered buyer questions - you can see right away all the things that need doing.

You can customize your dashboard to prioritize what matters most to you, whether it's tracking document uploads, monitoring team contributions, or managing permissions. Now you're no longer playing catch-up and being reaction - you can really take the helm of your deal. 

Better for...the long term

A deal closing isn't the end - it's the beginning. Maintaining a rigorous, permanent, auditable record of every part of the deal is just common sense. But it's often been a clumsy process in the past, involving multiple USB thumb drivers that can go missing and are always fiddly to access.

Datasite Archive has been around for a while, enabling you to create a permanent snapshot of any deal at any point, one that's as searchable as a live project. Now the new My Archives section stores all your archived deals in one easily accessible place (easy just for you, that is). It means you're always ready for the auditors - or simply to track down materials from previous deals to recycle your hard work. It even keeps track of any USBs you ordered. Most important of all, it's lasting compliance. 

Each of these recent innovations covered at the Front of the Line technology showcase is just one crucial step on a larger journey: finding the better way to M&A. So stick with Datasite, and we'll get you there fast!