5 Key IT E-Discovery Trends

As e-discovery continues to grow in complexity with the seemingly endless increases in data and data sources, IT considerations become more important. And because e-discovery activities should not exist in a vacuum with legal teams only, IT teams play a more vital role in shaping the direction of their organizations’ data management.

IT will need the help of their e-discovery teams in ensuring they can deliver the necessary help. Below, we’ve laid out five e-discovery trends for IT teams to consider, taken from our IT’s Comprehensive Guide to E-Discovery report. Download the report to get a much more in-depth look at the keys to a well-functioning IT/e-discovery ecosystem, and foster better collaboration between your teams. 

#1: Aligning E-Discovery Software and Data Management with Enterprise Security Requirements 

Data security has emerged as a major consideration for organizations looking to purchase e-discovery software. The nature and sensitivity of the electronically stored information (ESI) handled within software system makes it imperative that IT align system security requirements with those that are already in place for corporate networks and individual systems on which discovery takes place.

Read the guide for more information.

#2: Key Considerations Surrounding Cloud-Based E-Discovery Systems

Many organizations are currently using cloud-hosted solutions, ranging from e-mail services, such as Gmail, to popular business applications, like Salesforce. E-discovery systems, traditionally deployed behind a company’s firewall, have also made the ascent to the cloud. As organizations consider what e-discovery deployment model is right for them, following are few key considerations:

1. Deployment Speed

2. Budgeting

3. Data Security/Privacy

• Access controls to define user permissions 
• Built-in firewalls that allow users to control system accessibility
• Transport level encryption to protect data when it is in motion
• Hardening of servers to protect against vulnerabilities in the system

4. Functionality and Performance

Read the guide for more information.

#3: In the E-Discovery Features Arms Race, Scalability Still Reigns Supreme

Scalability is a revered concept in the technology realm. Many would argue that it’s the single most important factor that separates the truly powerful technologies from those that never make it off the ground. Google and Facebook, for instance, have grown into practical institutions thanks in large part to their remarkable ability to deliver the same user experience and performance no matter how much information is poured into each system.

How technologies scale is a complex topic. On a very basic level, it is important to understand the concepts of vertical and horizontal scalability:

• Vertical Scalability refers to the ability to increase capacity by putting different layers of a business application each on their own server.

• Horizontal Scalability refers to the ability to increase capacity by putting a single tier on multiple servers, so that they work towards a single purpose.

Read the guide for more information.

#4: Mitigating Network Interruptions During E-Discovery Collections

Consider the example of an organization running a large data collection project involving several terabytes of electronically stored information (ESI). With little warning, Legal comes to IT with yet another high-priority collection project implicating several dispersed data sources that must be initiated and run in parallel to the ongoing collection—which has already stretched IT resources thin. Though this might sound like the stuff of IT nightmares, the scenario is actually a common reality for large organizations that are perpetually assailed by litigation and related e-discovery demands. One of the biggest challenges for IT teams is ensuring that these collection demands don’t adversely impact the networks that the company relies on for running business-critical applications.

Read the guide for more information.

#5: Streamlining E-Discovery Collections with Automated Workflows 

A typical e-discovery collection request from Legal to IT can sometimes end up a pretty messy process. Fortunately, there are steps organizations can take to create a much more efficient e-discovery collection process. It starts with applying a workflow approach automated with enterprise-scale technology.

Collection Workflows

Workflows are designed to connect tasks in a logical way, eliminate process delays, and improve cross-departmental communications. Because of the minute details involved in e-discovery collection projects, workflows between legal and IT teams can help achieve consistency and mitigate mistakes. Below are a few elements to consider for creating an effective e-discovery collection workflow: 

• Pre-Defined Specifications and Checklists

• Task Management

• Collection Planning

• Issue Management

• Automated Reporting

This is just a sneak-peak from Chapter 1 of IT’s Comprehensive Guide to E-Discovery. Read the whole guide for much more information!