Traditionally, eDiscovery has been primarily associated with legal proceedings. However, as the role of data and the regulations surrounding data storage and use have evolved, the use of eDiscovery has also expanded. eDiscovery tools and processes can play a pivotal role in the data lifecycle by enabling organizations to locate and access quality data swiftly.

Consider the following eDiscovery practices that support powerful data governance.

Ensure Effective Data Identification and Classification

Data involved in eDiscovery must be searchable and accessible. Additionally, a clear chain of custody for all data ensures the preservation of data integrity, a fundamental goal in eDiscovery.

Achieving these goals requires proper indexing and classification of data through effective metadata management. This in turn makes it easier to manage the data lifecycle and retrieve relevant information when needed.

Today’s platforms offer many different locations and service providers to store information, including localized to computers, internal computer networks, and the cloud. Understanding and controlling the location of information by type is critical to avoid deduplication of effort and having conflicting or out of date documents and information. Data classification is nearly as important as where data is stored.

Prioritize Data Security and Confidentiality

To ensure regulatory compliance and prevent spoliation of data for litigation purposes, companies must focus on data security and privacy. Best practices include encrypting sensitive data and implementing access controls. Organizations should also regularly audit security protocols to prevent data breaches.

Data security and privacy also prove essential for effective data governance. Consequently, this focus on protecting sensitive data and controlling data access accomplishes two critical goals at once.

Automate Where Possible

As the data environment grows increasingly complex, legal teams can find themselves bogged down with identifying and collecting data. Automating many routine and time-consuming tasks frees up legal counsel to focus on doing what they do best. It also allows teams to establish case strategy more quickly while improving accuracy.

For example, automation streamlines tasks such as data identification and classification, deduplication, redaction, review, and analysis. This saves money in eDiscovery while simplifying data governance.

Understand the Benefits and Dangers Posed by AI

AI figures prominently in automating data tasks. It also improves speed and accuracy by quickly combing through huge datasets to identify certain types of information such as account numbers or protected health information. And by identifying trends and anomalies that human reviewers might miss, it helps to uncover hidden insights.

At the same time, however, AI introduces several significant risks. For instance, the accuracy of data used to train AI systems will affect the quality of the data classification the system produces. AI may also introduce unintended bias and privacy concerns. Consequently, while AI may prove essential, business leaders must understand the risks and use the technology wisely.

Leverage eDiscovery Technology

Utilizing eDiscovery tools not only streamlines the eDiscovery process but also reinforces data governance. For example, cloud-based and SaaS eDiscovery solutions provide increased accessibility, scalability, and flexibility. Also, by design, they handle vast amounts of data more efficiently and facilitate seamless collaboration across multiple teams and locations.

When choosing technology to support eDiscovery and data governance, organizations should look for solutions that provide robust security while scaling to handle large and complex data volumes. And to ensure these solutions deliver value, choose tools that are intuitive, easy to learn and use.

Choose Your eDiscovery Vendor Carefully

Finally, as both the data environment and the legal landscape continue to evolve, organizations will benefit from partnering with an experienced eDiscovery vendor. But take time to vet potential vendors carefully, as the decision can significantly impact both legal outcomes and data quality.

Ask detailed questions. For instance, you should prioritize vendors that can demonstrate specific experience in your industry. Also look for providers that have implemented stringent security measures to protect sensitive data and that can ensure compliance with applicable regulations.

Implement eDiscovery Best Practices for Effective Data Governance

eGovernance provides cloud-based solutions for preserving, discovering and accessing digital data within your email and document storage systems for compliance, audit, security, eDiscovery and warehousing of critical or older data. We provide fully managed solutions with access to subject matter experts in the fields of Information Governance, records retention policies and eDiscovery.

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For example, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) mandates that publicly traded companies indefinitely retain emails related to insider dealings. Banking laws mandate a five-year retention period. Numerous additional laws and industry regulations require various retention periods for certain types of emails.

To stay compliant, companies turn to archiving solutions. But the various solutions offer a wide range of features, and organizations must define and enforce retention policies. The process can prove complex, but these best practices will help organizations achieve compliance while supporting productive work.

Business Email Archiving vs. Backup

Archiving differs from an email backup and involves more than simply storing a copy of electronic information. Whereas a backup provides short-term insurance in case of disaster or accidental deletion, archives provide quick access to decades of important data.

Businesses archive email for several reasons. In addition to regulatory compliance, they preserve electronic data to aid in internal investigations, as well as eDIscovery for litigation and documentation of intellectual property. Archives also streamline records management by removing old data out of active mailboxes.

Because archived data must remain preserved in its original form, archiving systems operate under specific requirements. The organization must implement strict security controls and ensure that archived data is not altered in any way. Emails and attachments within the archive should be indexed to facilitate quick search and retrieval of relevant data.

Carefully Review Regulatory Requirements

Any organization could be subject to multiple federal and state laws, as well as industry regulations. Each law or regulation has its own retention requirements, and failure to comply can result in hefty penalties, reputation damage or even prison time.

To complicate matters, new privacy laws such as California’s CPRA mandate timely disposal of certain types of information. As a result, companies can no longer take the easy way out and simply keep all emails indefinitely.

Keep an eye on the regulatory landscape and consult your legal team on a regular basis to ensure ongoing compliance.

Update Retention Policies Regularly

Retention policies play a critical role in archiving. These policies indicate what data should be retained and for how long. Because business needs and regulations change periodically, organizations should review and update retention policies at least annually. In addition to the legal team, stakeholders from every department should provide input.

Embrace Automation

No matter how carefully the compliance team documents retention policies, relying on users to implement the policies manually is neither feasible nor defensible. A good archiving system will include tools to automate enforcement of retention policies. With automation, archiving and disposal happen behind the scenes, according to policy and without end user intervention.

Ensure a Tamper-proof Archive

In the event of litigation and to demonstrate compliance, the organization must be able to show a defensible chain of custody and prove that electronic data has not been edited. This requires a tamper-proof archiving system. For instance, PST files do not provide the necessary protection against corruption and should be avoided.

In addition to guarding against data corruption and editing, archiving solutions must incorporate tight security controls. This includes data encryption, both in transit and at rest. And it includes solid access management with comprehensive auditing.

Explore the Benefits of Cloud-based Business Email Archiving

Modern cloud archive solutions provide a host of business benefits. For instance, eGovernance Cloud:

• Offers dynamic data management through policy-based retention and disposal of data.
• Ensures tamper-proof archives with a read-only view into older data.
• Saves storage space by eliminating duplication.
• Allows you to retain control of your data with unlimited export functionality.
• Provides powerful search tools for both beginners and professionals, making it easy to find the data you need quickly.
• Keeps data safe with a physically separate, searchable copy. Users can forward data back to the live system as necessary.

To streamline compliance and increase productivity in your organization contact an archiving specialist to explore eGovernance Cloud archiving solutions.

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