Migrated from eDJGroupInc.com. Author: Greg Buckles. Published: 2015-08-17 20:00:00Format, images and links may no longer function correctly.
My blog on the potential for a battle of the eDiscovery Borgs (consolidated national providers) sparked a fast and rather harsh perspective from Andy Wilson (Logikcull CEO).
“When frightened, the herd naively rallies together as one to fend off the thirsty, ferocious, and evolved/mutated predator from plucking each doomed prey from the pack.”
As a market innovator counting on disruptive pricing models, I can see why Andy views most vendors as herd animals. Instead of viewing the Borgs as predators, I see them as the last refuge for small and mid-tier vendors too addicted to the sweet profit margins generated by immature $/GB customers. The early EDD vendors had to be rough, feral omnivores to survive in a legal community that did not even acknowledge email as evidence until it was printed. Yes, I can recall arguments with a general counsel who said something like, “We have never produced an electronic file and they are not ‘documents’ on my watch.” Points to any colleagues who can privately name that GC.
Getting back to my counter analogy – I posit that most of the original feral vendors have lost their ability to compete in the evolving eDiscovery market because they have been ‘domesticated’ by volume pricing ($/GB) consumed by captive clients. We all should know why it is bad to feed wild animals. When law firm’s control the eDiscovery spending as a cost hidden in the larger review bill there was little incentive to conduct real RFP’s unless something got screwed up. Many vendors made the transition from copy shop to captive ‘feed lot’ EDD host without ever having to fight for their customers. The eDiscovery consumer base is consolidating as the EDD budgets shift from law firms (which many have hundreds of ‘clients’) to corporations with formal purchasing systems. All of this does not mean that truly wild providers are better. Any fly-by-night garage shop can process and host your data for a bottom dollar price and a sky high risk. I want my client’s providers to be just feral enough to be competitive, but domesticated enough to build a long term relationship. All of this sparked my memory of Jared Diamond’s six criteria for animals being suitable for domestication. So Fat or Feral, see if you can recognize your favorite EDD provider in the Wikipedia description with my eDiscovery annotations:
- Flexible diet – Creatures that are willing to consume a wide variety of food sources and can live off less cumulative food from the food pyramid (such as corn or wheat), particularly food that is not utilized by humans (such as grass and forage) are less expensive to keep in captivity. Carnivores by definition feed primarily or only on flesh, which requires the domesticators to raise additional animals just to feed them, though they may exploit sources of meat not utilized by humans, such as scraps and vermin. eDJ-Feral providers can adapt pricing models to meet consumer demands. They may be willing to gamble with annual contracts. They will fill out your RFP instead of sending you their Apple-2-Grapefruit price sheet.
- Reasonably fast growth rate – Fast maturity rate compared to the human life span allows breeding intervention and makes the animal useful within an acceptable duration of caretaking. Some large animals require many years before they reach a useful size. eDJ – Feral providers are constantly hiring, growing and creating new offerings. They are not coasting on captive clients.
- Ability to be bred in captivity – Creatures that are reluctant to breed when kept in captivity do not produce useful offspring, and instead are limited to capture in their wild state. Creatures such as the panda, antelope and giant forest hog are territorial when breeding and cannot be maintained in crowded enclosures in captivity. eDJ – I will refrain from all the LTNY and happy hour jokes here and interpret this as the ability to conduct business in full view of the consumer public. Is your provider willing to publish their prices or are they comfortable conducting an annual open RFP process to verify that you are getting a competitive price?
- Pleasant disposition – Large creatures that are aggressive toward humans are dangerous to keep in captivity. The African buffalo has an unpredictable nature and is highly dangerous to humans; similarly, although the American bison is raised in enclosed ranges in the Western United States, it is much too dangerous to be regarded as truly domesticated. Although similar to the domesticated pig in many ways, Africa’s warthog and bushpig are also dangerous in captivity. eDJ – Successful professionals are not socially defensive. Do they attack competitors in blogs or talk smack about them at happy hours? Successful providers play well with others and have multiple partnerships.
- Temperament which makes it unlikely to panic – A creature with a nervous disposition is difficult to keep in captivity as it may attempt to flee whenever startled. The gazelle is very flighty and it has a powerful leap that allows it to escape an enclosed pen. Some animals, such as the domestic sheep, still have a strong tendency to panic when their flight zone is encroached upon. However, most sheep also show a flocking instinct, whereby they stay close together when pressed. Livestock with such an instinct may be herded by people and dogs. eDJ-Signs of panic in an EDD provider include constantly changing Go To Market campaigns, bottom dollar pricing and sales scare tactics. Notably, watch for press releases, blogs or white papers based on recent caselaw that include dire consequences for non-compliance.
- Modifiable social hierarchy – Social creatures whose herds occupy overlapping ranges and recognize a hierarchy of dominance can be raised to recognize a human as the pack leader. eDJ- Can your provider manage relationships and decision authority shared between outside counsel and corporate legal team? Are they comfortable bringing in an outside expert or third party technology to meet your specific demands? Are they comfortable with their value proposition and eager to partner?
My thanks to Andy for spurring that thought exercise.
Greg Buckles wants your feedback, questions or project inquiries at Greg@eDJGroupInc.com. Contact him directly for a ‘Good Karma’ call. His active research topics include analytics, mobile device discovery, the discovery impact of the cloud, Microsoft’s Office 365/2013 eDiscovery Center and multi-matter discovery. Recent consulting engagements include managing preservation during enterprise migrations, legacy tape eliminations, retention enablement and many more.
Blog perspectives are personal opinions and should not be interpreted as a professional judgment. eDJ consultants are not journalists and perspectives are based on public information. Blog content is neither approved nor reviewed by any providers prior to being posted. Do you want to share your own perspective? eDJ Group is looking for practical, professional informative perspectives free of marketing fluff, hidden agendas or personal/product bias. Outside blogs will clearly indicate the author, company and any relevant affiliations.
Blog perspectives are personal opinions and should not be interpreted as a professional judgment. Blog content is neither approved nor reviewed by any providers prior to being posted. Do you want to share your own perspective? eDJ Group is looking for practical, professional informative perspectives free of marketing fluff, hidden agendas or personal/product bias. eDJ Group is not responsible for the content of outside contributors and all such blogs will clearly indicate the author, company and any relevant affiliations.