[author: Doug Austin, Editor of eDiscovery Today]
If you’ve read my posts in the past, you’re probably aware that one of my pet peeves in the industry is “marketing speak” that is used a lot, but doesn’t necessarily have any real meaning.
One of the most overused terms in eDiscovery is the term “end-to-end” eDiscovery. Many sales and marketing people in the industry will tell you (proudly, and with conviction, I might add) that “we provide an end-to-end eDiscovery solution!”
But do they really? I mean, REALLY?!?
For many years, when providers said they provided “end-to-end” eDiscovery, what they really meant (in terms of the EDRM model, where the ends were defined) was from Preservation and Collection through Production. But the Preservation and Collection part really meant that they generally provided a mechanism for users to upload data into the solution (thereby performing a level of collection which also preserves a copy of the data during collection). They didn’t provide legal hold management or forensic collection; it was just a “point and click” mechanism to push files up into the platform to be processed for review and then (if designed as responsive and not privileged), produced to opposing counsel.