Digital rights management (DRM) has been around in some form since the early days of personal computers that used floppy disks, but its complexity and use cases have evolved a great deal since then. DRM technology is essentially used to maintain control over digital media. That is, intellectual property owners and creators can prevent their works from being copied without permission or from otherwise unauthorized use.
For example, DRM might be used on a DVD to prevent its contents from being uploaded to a piracy site, where hundreds or thousands of users could download digital copies. DRM really broke into the public conversation when it came to PC games. These days, digital sales of video games are starting to surpass physical sales, and digital rights management is used to tie digital copies of games to specific user accounts, preventing them from being shared across multiple users.
The uses for DRM solutions are changing even more today, as it’s starting to become an important part of data security. Data is one of the most valuable assets available to any organization, and you need to ensure that your digital assets and sensitive information are kept safe. Here are just some of the great benefits you’ll experience when you take advantage of the right DRM software.
Access Control
One of the most important data security use cases for DRM in the business world is to create secure virtual data rooms during the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) process. When companies merge or consolidate their assets, there are several professionals who need to look over sensitive data, such as legal documents and financial reports, to confirm that going through with the M&A is in both parties’ best interests. This document review is called the due diligence process, and it will frequently involve investment bankers, lawyers, and other professionals reviewing sensitive documents and advising CEOs on how to proceed.
One of the best features of a DRM system is that it lets you control access to any documents you share during due diligence. Each document can be locked through encryption and set up with a key that’s only given to trusted users. You control how key delivery works, and if you want to be extra careful, you could even set up multi-factor authentication measures to ensure anyone accessing the document is who they say they are. You can even determine the ways a document can be shared, such as whether it can be copied or displayed on multiple devices.
Activity Tracking
In addition to full access control, you’ll also be able to track user activity, thanks to real-time analytics. You can see every time one of your files is downloaded in the first place, as well as any time it’s opened after that. This makes it easy to keep tabs on an M&A process, or any other deal, as well as determine which parties are interested. The best DRM solutions also require no plugins to view documents, so you can be sure that due diligence and deals run as smoothly as possible.
Access Revocation
Just because you share sensitive documents with third parties during the due diligence process doesn’t mean that they get to keep access to them, With the right DRM, copyright holders or document owners can revoke access to materials at any time. This revokes access even if the user has previously downloaded the document. It’s a great idea to have your DRM system do this automatically once an M&A is complete. You can even set your system to revoke access soon after you upload sensitive documents, to ensure that anyone with access gets to them in a timely manner.
DRM makes it easier than ever to protect your data via thorough encryption and to ensure that all involved parties have remote support, so they can complete document review as quickly as possible.