All-in-one or best-in-breed?

All-in-one or best-in-breed? A single software suite or a number of point solutions unified together to operate as a cohesive solution?

These two questions have been hotly debated in the e-discovery tech industry for years. E-discovery has many steps, and each step requires software in order to execute. As each part of the process is conducted, the individual pieces of information flow from stage to stage.

Some believe that an all-in-one solution is the cleanest and most practical approach in implementing an end-to-end e-discovery solution, asserting that the transfer of data between software solutions to manage the collection, processing and review of data can be cumbersome and error-prone. Others treat each stage of e-discovery as a distinct business process, requiring software that is sophisticated enough to meet the unique needs of each scenario. It's a demanding process, and they value the quick and easy implementation of new innovations that may not fit snugly into an existing all-in-one solution.

So how is e-discovery different than any other technology solution?  We see a lot of all-in-one solutions out there, offering one product for all aspects of a process, but when we take a look at what other ubiquitous office technologies do, we often see best-of-breed implementation.

Take email, for example, as it is deployed at kCura. When an email comes in, it first passes through our spam filter—in this case, Google's Postini. From there, the email enters our Microsoft Exchange server, where it's scanned for viruses using Trend Micro antivirus protection. At that point, our employees are checking their email using desktop computers via Outlook, and their iPods, BlackBerrys and iPhones-and finally the email is archived to Google's Gmail. It doesn't take one, but many, best-of-breed solutions to create an efficient and effective email system.

Both the all-in-one and best-of-breed approaches manifest themselves in e-discovery, and they serve a range of unique purposes based on customer need.

Two Approaches Examined

All-in-one highlights. For many, a single solution can be easier to use. Users can log into a single console and not have to worry about transferring data between components. This solution's primary appeal is avoiding the movement of big data in multiple ways, where errors could potentially be introduced if the transition isn't automated.

Assuming that the all-in-one solution is built well—meaning that each component of the larger process speaks to the surrounding components effectively—there's a deployment benefit of an all-in-one solution. Again, there's one single system being implemented, so the challenges surrounding deployment can be mitigated. There still may be a number of complexities, but those are more evident on a case-by-case basis.

From a vendor management perspective, the process is fairly streamlined. All-in-one solutions mean you're licensing a single solution from a single vendor. There's one contract, one payment, and-for better or worse-one person you go to when the technology isn't functioning effectively. There's the opportunity to build a single relationship, rather than developing rapport with a range of companies who may have different styles of customer support.

Best-of-breed highlights. In terms of advantages, a best-of-breed approach provides a level of speed and agility to innovate that's tough to maintain in an all-in-one solution. An extendable platform with easily adapted APIs means new solutions can be built quickly and deployed more rapidly by vendors, customers and third-party software providers. For example, when StoredIQ's customers asked for a seamless way to integrate the developer's case tracking and analysis tool into our review tool, StoredIQ was able to build an integration and offer it to the public in a matter of weeks, utilizing a software developer's kit and adjusting the integration along the way based on immediate feedback received from their clients.

Additionally, it can be a challenge for an all-in-one vendor to be excellent in each stage of e-discovery, as each phase of the EDRM brings with it a new set of requirements and desires. Customers also have very different needs for each of these phases. Depending on the nature of the firm, and how it practices e-discovery, some firms may require more robust capabilities for each part of the e-discovery process at different times, and this can be solved via several different best-of-breed applications. Costs are also a benefit here, as firms can distribute their resources accordingly. If they need to invest in a top review tool, but don't need much in the way of collection, they can spend more in the areas they deem the most vital.

Lastly, technology moves fast. The industry is growing and new products cannibalize existing products on a regular basis. Tools can become obsolete quickly, so being able to swap out technology components with something newer or better that leverages the most up-to-date technology can be valuable.

It should be clear that this approach will only work if the integration between products is supported by their vendors. Data transfer needs to be automated in order to ensure an effective process.

"Platform" as a Development Mantra

If you take the best-of-breed approach and center these applications around a single hub application, you're now looking at your technology in a different light. It has become a platform, which—for the sake of this article—we'll define as a piece of technology that is extendable, for which one is able to build (a.) point-solution applications that sit on top of the platform to fulfill specific needs; and (b.) integrations between existing technologies and the software.

The platform idea may make sense as a development mantra for helping customers, as it highlights response time and flexibility as ideal characteristics. Also, in the growing e-discovery space, it will only benefit customers to have choices. When you're evaluating everything from costs and ROI to flexibility and speed, there's much value added by choice. The flexibility of a platform provides choice in the same way: if you have a series of tasks you hope to complete using your e-discovery software, knowing that it's a quick adjustment to either buy an existing application, build your own application, or hire an outside firm to build an application for you is beneficial.