The New Firmex Blog is Live!

Jan 28, 2010 - by Joel Lessem

Welcome to the new and improved Firmex Blog, an online space to discuss about secure document exchange and collaboration, virtual data room technology and its applications, M&A trends and news, secure extranets, and many other related topics.Aside from the new look, new content and features, there are some specific goals we would like to achieve with this blog.

• As one of the leaders in our industry, we want to contribute to the ongoing conversation on topics related to secure document collaboration and virtual data room environments.

• Deliver value added content, articles, news and case studies to corporations, investment banks, law firms  and any organization looking to securely organize and exchange confidential documents online.

• To answer your questions and concerns on secure online information exchange and collaboration.  If you are conducting a due diligence process, reviewing transaction drafts, closing deals, running audits., providing document libraries for clients  or across organizations  as part of a corporate initiative, we want to hear from you.

• We survey 1000s of users every year. We are interested in hearing your comments, questions, inquiries and product ideas as we continuously expand the uses and functions of our technology.

• However, above all, we want to listen to you, our reader. Come and help us shape the industry and deliver even better value to organizations around the world.

Once again, welcome and thanks for dropping by!

Why Is Unlimited Use of Virtual Data Rooms so Beneficial?

Feb 11, 2010 - by Joel Lessem

It has always puzzled me as to why virtual data room providers charge per data room or per page or total number of users.  How can any company running a deal know exactly how many pages of documents they will have? Or how many users are going to access the deal room? 

Therefore, a buyer is unable to predict the final cost of the VDR. If they misjudge the amount of due diligence documentations or users, they can get stuck with a hefty bill. This type of “multi-line item” quoting is not designed with the customer in mind.

The other item I never understood is why the limitation on the number of deal rooms?  It’s not uncommon to have multiple data rooms for a single project.  More so, it’s the ability to start getting “deal ready” and exchanging documents early on in the mandate. Unlimited use also broadens the scope of use.

Is Your Password as Secure as Your Data?

Nov 15, 2010 - by Ronen Segall

Imagine a secure bunker housing the most confidential documents in the world, like something out of a Mission Impossible movie. Now imagine the front door of that bunker being secured with a rusty old padlock.

This is often the case when dealing with secure online websites. The back-end contains all the advanced gadgetry while the front-end is protected by a weak, easily deciphered password like a person's favourite sports team, a spouse's name, or a child's birthday. Such is the nature of being human.

Firmex employs a different type of password protection. We ensure that the front-end padlock of your site is as secure as the back-end infrastructure.

When a new Firmex user profile is created the user is assigned a complex, randomly generated password. The password is at least 10 characters long and made up of a combination of 94 characters (26 uppercase letters, 26 lowercase letters, 10 numbers, and 32 special characters). The first time a user logs in they are asked to change their password to a password that's just as complex as the one that was randomly generated.

M&A Master Class Series - Part 1 Recap

Sep 29, 2011 - by Joel Lessem

Recently I participated in the M&A Master Class webinar alongside Andrew J. Sherman, author and Partner at Jones Day.  What an incredible opportunity to listen to a leading authority on M&A, up close and personal. This session took listeners through not only his views on the current state of the market but also key steps to prepare for selling a company.  The slides to his presentation are posted on the Firmex website, but I thought I would re-iterate his views on the current state of the market, which he took us through in our conversation.

Software Performance Correlates with End User Productivity

Oct 18, 2011 - by Joel Lessem

Over the course of the last year, Firmex has made major investments in our product group.  From deep talent hires to doubling our head count in development, to investing in SOC 2 audits and partnering with a content acceleration provider – we are serious about ensuring our customers enjoy a consistently high experience when it comes to working with Firmex.

The Deal Knowledge Advantage

Feb 27, 2012 - by Phil Adrien

How important is deal knowledge? What pieces of information will give you, as the buyer or seller, the leg up on getting the best possible deal done? One of the easiest places to gain information that will give you the edge -- your virtual deal room.

When you select a virtual deal room, rather than leaving it up to the other parties, you gain the advantage. And when you select the right virtual deal room provider, with the right reporting capabilities, your advantage is magnified.

The New Firmex Knowledge Base

Mar 1, 2012 - by Edward Stephen

The Firmex Knowledge Base recently received a facelift! Changes to the design and updated articles provide more clarity and ease use for our clients and their users. Some of the changes include:

Trends in Technology M&A and Outlook for Remainder of 2012 - Webinar Recap

Apr 17, 2012 - by Debbie Stephenson

Today we enjoyed an in-depth discussion on Trends in Technology M&A and Outlook for the Remainder of 2012 with Cyrus Lam, Managing Director of KPMG Corporate Finance LLC in New York. Cyrus not only took attendees through the current state of the M&A market, but also outlined the key drivers for technology M&A activity for the remainder of 2012. With the market flush with investable capital, he then provided some advice on how technology companies could make themselves more attractive to potential acquirers.