The Case for eDiscovery (Part Two)

By Marisa Peacock (@marisacp51) Oct 6, 2008 Comments

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In our quest to better understand eDiscovery and everything it has to offer, CMSWire has spent time talking with various companies that tackle the very essence of search and discovery of electronic documents.

In part one of this initiative, we reported on two companies that focus on the right side of the popular Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM). The right side focuses on the processes involved in synthesizing and analyzing the data.

In our part two, we focused on the left side of the model — the one that deals with the information management part of the eDiscovery process.

EDRM

EDRM Model

EDRM Model

CA

CA is an IT management software company based out of Islandia, New York. They work with clients from the “inside out” often residing in the same space, so that they get to understand and know the environment. Reed Irvin, vice president of product management, spoke with us about how the company approaches information management and the inevitable evolution of the industry.

Irvin agrees that the need for a precise and structured process for gathering, organizing and retaining a company's content is born out of the frequent mistakes companies repeatedly make, which often results in litigation. Most times, lawsuits are settled outside of court, based on the assumption that neither side has an efficient solution in place that allows them to search and discover relevant information.

Yet, legal costs are on the rise, because companies are mismanaging their content. Thinking proactively is key, but something companies rarely do when it comes to content management.

By having policy dictate the process, rather than the actual content, CA works to integrate their solutions within a company's existing infrastructure. The ultimate goal is to make it so a company's legal counsel is the one managing the content, while IT is the one supporting it.

Transparency is the Key to Compliance

Opening up the dialogue between legal and IT is not always easy. By determining the rules and regulations by which a company operates, CA's solutions let documents to be searched and declared automatically. Having policies and guidelines for compliance strategies can ensure that the technology is consistently applied. Irvin says that it's “not about being perfect, but about being consistent.”

Once records are organized accordingly, the risk of the records needs to be assessed. Irvin says that companies often hold onto to records much longer than needed. However, holding onto the documents past their shelf-life may bring a certain level of risk. Again, Irvin urges consistency; it is okay to keep records for the shortest period of retention allowed, as long as it's consistently carried out.

You could say the CA is not just about software management solutions, but about mentorship as well. They are dedicated to helping companies and their employees understand the processes and issues involved so that they can have confidence in asserting control over the content management. Irvin predicts that in the next few years, the eDiscovery industry will start to cater to “in-house” operations that relieve the need for third parties. In order to make this happen, eDiscovery software must seamlessly integrate with the existing infrastructure.

Kazeon

Kazeon is very clear on what it isn't. It isn't an eDiscovery service provider. It is, however, a software company that offers proactive and reactive solutions for eDiscovery and information management.