Ansarada announces Secure Office

With research indicating that almost three-quarters (71%) of M&A executives have recently suffered a data loss, ansarada is making it even easier for the industry to securely share Microsoft Office applications with Secure Office.

“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, utilising plugins, installations or custom software like viewers, leading to frequent situations where bidders are prevented from opening documents by their own organisation’s IT policies.  This puts pressure on the seller to reissue the files unburdened by the security that was meant to protect it.

Designed specifically for those involved in M&A deals, ansarada’s Secure Office feature solves this problem by providing an effortless way for bidders and sellers to share sensitive Microsoft Office documents, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint. No installation, viewers or plugins are needed and users experience no difference to the way they normally share or open Microsoft Office documents.

Offering the ability to apply and remove security at will, Secure Office from ansarada also allows M&A executives to:

• Control who has access to documents, with the ability to track document views, inside or outside a data room
• Control whether individuals can alter information in documents
• Prevent illegitimate copying and printing of documents
• Control whether individuals can see formulas in Excel
• Expire documents after a certain date, or if un-authorised access is attempted

“Our research consistently shows that unless security, simplicity and ease of use are considered together as equal priorities in designing software solutions for M&A, the industry will simply not be able to use them” explains Stephen Dearing, Vice President of EMEA for ansarada. “ansarada’s Secure Office is by far the easiest way to secure Microsoft Office documents, and for the user there’s no difference – documents behave like just regular files.”

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

ansarada’s research, which asked 520 bankers, lawyers, consultants and accountants specialising in M&A, highlights the barriers faced by the industry when it comes to closing deals efficiently and on time. It also found that data losses accounted for deals being delayed by an average of 12 days.