ansarada Announces New Secure Document Management Solution for Managing Microsoft® Office Files During M&A Due Diligence

ansarada, a global provider of virtual data rooms designed to simplify the mergers and acquisitions process, today introduced Secure Office, a new document review feature that allows bidders to open secure Microsoft® Office files in their native programs, rather than as read-only PDF or image files. With Secure Office, bidders can now manipulate documents, such as adjusting formulas to “stress-test” financial models in Excel, while the seller maintains strict security controls, including the ability to track views, remotely deactivate any feature (such as formulas), or disable entire documents in real time.

“Things happen fast during M&A due diligence and small barriers to workflow can become major roadblocks, leading to frustration and lost time,” said Matthew Brown, Chief Product Officer at ansarada. “Too often, when faced with the choice between slowing down a due diligence process, or leaving their Financial Model unprotected in a deal, sellers give up and send original Excel files via email. This is a very risky move – one that should never be taken with such a highly confidential document.”

Existing solutions in the marketplace have focused on security over ease of use, utilizing plugins, installations or custom software like viewers, leading to frequent situations where bidders are prevented from opening documents by their own organization’s IT policies. This puts pressure on the seller to reissue the files unburdened by the security that was meant to protect it.

ansarada’s Secure Office platform avoids this problem by giving bidders access to fully functioning excel documents in which they can “stress-test” the financial figures any way they wish, while giving sellers the security and control they need. Using the software within the data room, the seller can:

Apply and remove security at will – including specific functions like copying, printing and formula manipulation
Track views outside the room
Expire saved documents at any time
Since the documents are secured using a Microsoft technology that is built into Microsoft Office (AD RMS – Active Directory Rights Management Services) no plugins, installations or viewers are required by either the buy or sell side.

“Our ultimate goal is to make life easier for everyone involved in M&A, from the analyst crunching numbers to the C-suite executive who needs access to good data to make intelligent decisions,” said Larry Fontillas, Managing Director, Americas at ansarada. “Secure Office is the simplest and easiest way to secure a tranche of Excel files for due diligence. This is just one of many developments ansarada is rolling out to achieve our goal of zero roadblocks in M&A due diligence.”

“It’s Excel security you can actually use.”