Information Management
A Case for Proactive Discovery
Organizations today are faced with an ever-increasing amount of data and discovery requirements that leave little room for error. While managing and controlling this information can seem daunting, an archiving tool can provide a foundation from which to begin. With email and file system archiving capability, retention policies can be implemented and automated, allowing organizations to manage the information being created and stored every day. Search and review tools then provide immediate access to the information contained in the archive. Once relevant data has been identified, legal holds may be applied and the data can be searched and culled to reduce what must ultimately be processed, reviewed and produced. By using the right archiving tool, an organization will be able to flexibly manage its information and proactively respond to internal and external requests to produce that information.
Top Five Ways to Improve E-Discovery with Archiving
Organizations are increasingly being ordered to produce email messages and other files relevant to electronic discovery—and the penalties for noncompliance with a court’s discovery order can be severe. Thus it is vital that every organization manage its electronic data for fast, easy, accurate retrieval when required.
Here are five ways that you can use archiving to improve the way you handle discovery requests for electronic data.
1. Automate the collection of electronically stored information. Most organizations do not have functional policies for the retention and expiration of electronically stored information such as email, instant messages, Microsoft SharePoint libraries, Microsoft personal storage table (PST) files, Lotus Domino (NSF) files and file share data. As a result, electronic discovery involves searching through any location where data may be stored, making it costly and risky. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure favor organizations that can show the routine and good faith operation of an electronic information system when it comes to e-discovery. With the current volume of electronic information stored by most organizations, a process for the collection and eventual expiration of information is critical for both routine storage management and e-discovery.
2. Automate the legal hold process. The costs to preserve, find and review electronic evidence are considerable—and getting higher. But those costs must be weighed against the risk of losing a case or being forced to settle it because of evidence spoliation (failure to adequately preserve electronic evidence). Archiving can reduce the likelihood of spoliation by automating legal holds. When an organization is under a duty to preserve data, the archiving software can quickly suspend deletion and maintain electronically stored information in place. This automated approach reduces the need to create and manage copies of data on a per matter basis.
3. Make an early case assessment before investing in further e-discovery. Organizations that are able to assess each case early in its lifecycle are better equipped to make informed decisions about which cases to fight and which to settle. Electronic discovery costs and settlement thresholds can be reduced by giving inside counsel access to the archive with search and review capabilities. Because archived information has already been collected and indexed, your organization can conduct an early case assessment without the expense and disruption of manual data collection and third-party processing.
4. Use the archive to cull data relevant to the case. Once litigation has started, an archive can be used as a centralized repository for relevant data. Internal and external parties can begin the data culling process, searching by custodian, date range and Boolean keywords. Data can then be organized into cases, exported, or even produced with Bates numbering to reduce the volume of electronically stored information handled by third-party service providers, law firms and review tools.
5. Integrate archiving with the e-discovery process. Email messages are the most common target of electronic discovery. However, other types of unstructured content—data on file shares, instant messages, SharePoint libraries, SAP files, databases, voice mail messages and so on—are also subject to preservation orders and e-discovery requests. Integrated content archiving permits the centralized storage, indexing, preservation, expiration, and review of multiple types of unstructured information. Structured content (such as data stored in document management systems or active content on users’ desktops) can also be integrated with the archive. This integration allows unified e-discovery from a single, centrally managed repository. Finally, complementary analytical and review technologies designed to facilitate attorney workflow and case management should also be integrated with the archive. Such technologies can optimize and validate data transfer and reduce the IT workload for electronic discovery.
Symantec Enterprise Vault provides a software-based intelligent archiving platform to store and manage the discovery of corporate data from email systems, file server environments, instant message platforms and content management and collaborations systems. Because not all data is created equal, Enterprise Vault utilizes intelligent classification and retention technologies to capture, categorize, index and store target data to enforce policies and protect corporate assets, while reducing storage costs and simplifying management. It also provides specialized applications such as Discovery Accelerator and Compliance Accelerator to mine archived data in support of legal discovery, content compliance, knowledge management and information security initiatives.
Symantec is a global leader in infrastructure software, enabling businesses and consumers to have confidence in a connected world. The company helps customers protect their infrastructure, information and interactions by delivering software and services that address risks to security, availability, compliance and performance. Headquartered in Cupertino, Calif., Symantec has operations in 40 countries. More information is available at www.symantec.com.