Automated Data Mapping
Defensible Information Governance for E-Discovery
If your company was served with a discovery request tomorrow, would you be able to immediately comply with that request? Would you be confident that you could locate all of the relevant data in a timely manner and deliver it for litigation? Rule 26(a) states that initial meet and confer disclosures must include relevant data sources. Organizations are required to inventory electronically stored information (ESI), classify data and communicate time and cost estimates for its discovery. If additional sources of ESI are added after the fact, a judge can impose costly sanctions, so efficient access to corporate data sources is essential.
With the enormous amount of data stored in disparate locations, and the complexity of data storage policies, the logical starting point for an e-discovery readiness plan is an ESI data map. A data map enables companies to rapidly find, hold, analyze and produce relevant ESI for each case, and lower the cost of e-discovery by centralizing ESI repositories over time.
Many companies in today’s economy are cutting their workforces; and when employees walk out the door, their knowledge walks out with them. Data mapping software reduces the risk of losing mission-critical data.
“A data map allows legal teams to meet judicial obligations in a reasonable, repeatable and defensible fashion while enabling IT teams to function effectively, and provides quality information to the organization as a whole,” said Pete Warner, litigation technology specialist at Sandia National Laboratories, during a recent Exterro Webcast.
Defining a Data Map
A data map lets organizations know what ESI exists, where it resides, how accessible it is and what policies govern it. It is a repository for data and information mapped to business unit topology, data stewards and custodians. It provides system performance optimization and facilitates data back-up and migration processes. A data map is a critical component of a proactive litigation response plan and essential to a number of other important business processes. A data map allows legal teams to meet regulatory, litigatory and compliance initiatives in a timely and efficient fashion.
Many companies already have pieces of a data map in the form of IT inventories or records management databases which suffer from a lack of documentation and policies, cross-departmental redundancies and costly, time-consuming manual search methods.
“Keeping track of what systems you have and who are the key players within those systems is an increasing challenge,” said Bruce Phillips, vice president of information security at Fidelity National Financial, in the August 2009 issue of CSO Magazine. “Whether it is for business continuity, litigation support, legal hold or information security and data loss prevention, creating a data map gives you that bit of knowledge that helps you stay on top of an ever-changing landscape.”
The following four steps are recommended to create and manage an effective, automated data map:
1. Define: Preparation and design. Form a project team from key departments including IT, legal and records management, to determine project objectives, define the data map scope, identify key business units and departments, assign roles and responsibilities and create a project plan and budget. The centralized process framework provided by an automated data mapping system can cut down on the time and money spent on this difficult initial phase by institutionalizing roles, providing timelines and task alerts, planning and budgeting tools and serving as a centralized, collaborative repository for custodian and data source information.
2. Assemble: Identification and data gathering. An enterprisewide data map is the platform for distributing questionnaires and surveys, conducting interviews and logging responses to assemble a comprehensive catalogue of data sources and custodians, ensuring no information is missed.
Through automation, fewer hours are spent gathering information, accuracy increases, and costs are greatly reduced.
3. Analyze: Compile, synthesize, analyze information. A good automated data mapping solution should provide rich visualization and intuitive navigation for real-time, top-down/bottom-up views of business unit topology, systems and matters. It should also provide a legal hold indicator for all systems and stakeholders.
4. Refresh: Maintenance and governance. “Automation is the only way to achieve an evergreen data map that provides the collaboration and visibility required by all stakeholders,” said Shawn Christen, managing director of Huron Consulting Group, during a presentation at LegalTech West Coast 2009.
An automated data map eliminates the labor-intensive manual updating process. It automatically keeps the data map evergreen by certifying systems are up to date.
An Evergreen Data Map
The process automation provided by data mapping software accelerates response, reduces work, standardizes processes and delivers an evergreen data map. It gives companies the automated data map they need to understand their rapidly evolving information universe. An automated, enterprisewide data mapping solution delivers faster, smarter litigation response to e-discovery and regulatory compliance requests, and serves as the strategic entry point for all legal governance, risk and compliance management.
Exterro’s Fusion Genome
Exterro’s Fusion Genome, the industry’s only automated data mapping process control solution, is the strategic entry point for all legal governance, risk and compliance management. Genome delivers a comprehensive, defensible inventory of an organization’s IT systems. Built on top of Exterro’s Fusion workflow platform, Genome’s process automation accelerates response, reduces work, standardizes processes and ensures an evergreen data map, mirroring a company’s information universe as it changes and evolves. Its rich visualization and cross-functional collaboration capabilities facilitate data remediation and provide a structured inventory for identifying, collecting and producing relevant ESI. Genome integrates with third-party solution systems, including HR and asset management systems, as well as other Fusion solutions for a seamless approach to legal processes.
Exterro, Inc. is a leading provider of legal governance, risk and compliance management solutions. For more information, visit
www.exterro.com or call 1-877-EXTERRO