Migrated from eDJGroupInc.com. Author: Greg Buckles. Published: 2016-02-21 19:00:00Format, images and links may no longer function correctly.
Ever have meeting deja vu? That realization that you are asking the same questions and delivering the same advice over and over again? That feeling drives me to write in hopes that my next client will have read my blog and we can skip the rinse and repeat cycle. Several recent engagements have kicked off with overviews on the three primary ways that eDiscovery processing, review and analytics can be consumed.
On-premise software – Classic purchase/lease that is installed on your servers and you administrate/run the software.
Hosted Repository – A service provider processes, loads and manages your collections within their private data center. You are generally paying per GB plus optional services.
SaaS Cloud – The newest option where you create an online account, upload/ship your data and generally administrate/run the review with minimal tech support.
Each of these solution approaches has wildly differing pros, cons, costs, risks, required skills and more factors to consider. Some software (such as kCura’s Relativity) can be consumed via all three approaches. Others (such as Logikcull) are a pure SaaS Cloud offering. My point here is to do your homework before you start asking your favorite donut provider to send you a bid for taking control of your matters. Write down your usage cases and relevant requirements. Know your needs and your limits. Get input from outside counsel without letting them dictate the results.
Some questions to consider before starting:
- Do you have the discovery metrics and costs to make a Return On Investment (ROI) calculation?
- What is the key driver(s) to convert from reactive to proactive eDiscovery?
- Do you have an executive sponsor and budget for this change?
- Is your IT considering or already migrating to Office 365 and other cloud SaaS solutions?
- What parts of the discovery lifecycle do you own today? Holds-Collections-Processing-Review?
- Do you have the internal resources/skills to own the technology?
- What services will you require to support your discovery lifecycle?
- Can you group your matters into general discovery profiles to assess against the different license-cost models?
- Do you have any special regulatory, privacy or confidentiality requirements?
- What portion of collections overlap and can be reused with multi-matter capability?
The list goes on, but I hope that you get the gist. Nail down your primary usage cases and key requirements before you throw out that RFP. The ROI is there, but only if you have the right comparison metrics to measure it by.
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.