The landscape of eDiscovery software continues to evolve with lots of options to support various users, from in-house legal teams to large law firms to government entities. In many cases, organizations outsource eDiscovery processes because they don’t have the tools or resources to manage it themselves.

However, a shift is occurring to bring those activities back in-house. Gartner predicts that by 2023, more than 70% of enterprise IT leaders will upgrade to an end-to-end eDiscovery platform, up from 10% in 2019.

If that’s the path you’re on, what do you need to know about this type of software before deploying it?

What Should You Know About eDiscovery Software Before You Adopt It?

Transitioning to in-house eDiscovery is a journey. You don’t have to make the leap all at once. As you move through the process, you’ll discover new pieces of information about how software can help you transform.

When comparing options and road mapping your migration, here are some key considerations.

1. Aggregating Data Isn’t Impossible.

One fear that organizations have is just the concept of collecting data from multiple places in lots of different formats. They think it isn’t possible, or it will be time-intensive and expensive.

That’s a fallacy because eDiscovery software can facilitate this without the need for data analysts or scientists. A robust solution enables the intake of structured and unstructured data as well as every format type, from emails to PDFs to instant messages from Microsoft Teams, for example.

2. An Infrastructure Overhaul Isn’t Necessary.

Selecting an on-premise or cloud-based eDiscovery platform doesn’t require you to reengineer your infrastructure. Rather, the provider of the software sets up layers of security protocols to protect your data, irrespective of whether you choose cloud or on-premise deployment.

While you should still continue to invest in more secure IT infrastructure, adopting a cloud-based system doesn’t require additional capital investments for servers and other equipment, which an on-premises solution would need. Choosing the cloud is cost-effective, easy to deploy, and secure. On the other hand, choosing an on-premise solution keeps your data secure behind your firewall but requires additional infrastructure investments.

3. Slow Adoption Is OK.

Once you deploy eDiscovery software, you don’t have to go all-in at once. Start slowly with just legal hold, early case assessment (ECA) or with less complex cases.

After mastering ECA, you can move to processing data in-house then to full end-to-end eDiscovery. As you and your team become experts and develop workflows, you can continue your adoption at your pace.

The key to fully adopting also relates to how user-friendly the software is and the level of training required. Ideally, you’ll want to select a solution that is intuitive and fits your workflows. If staff members need 100 hours to be proficient, that’s not going to impact your workload for some time.

4. Quality Software Prioritizes the User Experience.

eDiscovery is a complex process with many steps, but that doesn’t mean the user interface needs to be. Some solutions offer a poor user experience because the platform is just a collection of widgets — not a truly integrated solution. If your users can’t efficiently operate the system, your implementation could stall.

5. Automation Is Possible

The whole point of software is to make processes more efficient, and automation powers this in eDiscovery software. When it comes to the features of automation, the most important are workflows and reviews. Built-in templates can streamline a process and reduce manual work, following the electronic discovery reference model process or one you create.

Automation in review relies on artificial intelligence, technology assisted review, and continuous active learning. Employing these tools reduces the data sets for review. As a result, you’ll save time and costs related to voluminous manual review.

6. eDiscovery Software Works for All Cases.

While you may start with a case with less electronically stored information, you’ll have no roadblocks for expansion to complex litigation. The must-have features to handle such cases are available in eDiscovery, including native redaction, advanced search, job prioritization, metadata extraction, indexing, and more.

You can also simultaneously manage multiple cases in various stages. Scaling with eDiscovery software isn’t a problem.

7. Processing Really Is That Fast.

The massive amounts of data you’re required to sift through aren’t getting any smaller. If you pass that to a vendor, you may believe that they have some magical superspeed processing system. In actuality, eDiscovery solutions can process up to 10 terabytes of data a day, even if it’s in multiple places. That basically makes processing unlimited.

8. You Can Gain Insights From the Right Solution.

The most beneficial eDiscovery platforms do more than take you through the process. They also offer interactive dashboards and metrics to deliver actionable information you can use to tweak workflows for maximum performance.

Ready to Experience an End-to-End Modern eDiscovery Software?

Now that you know all these things about eDiscovery software, the decision to move it in-house seems less daunting. It can be easy and hassle-free when you work with Venio Systems. Our eDiscovery software is affordable, rich with features, intuitive, and customizable. Explore how it works by requesting a demo today.

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