eDiscovery

Definición de eDiscovery

Electronic Discovery (eDiscovery) is the process of finding and collecting electronically stored information (or ESI) – typically for lawsuits, investigation, or legal purposes.

The discovery process is the opening phase for litigation proceedings, where parties involved are required to provide all information and data that’s relevant to the case. Unfortunately, gathering this information is not as easy as it sounds. Historically, eDiscovery involved the use of paper documents, presenting physical evidence, and interviewing witnesses.

However, most data is now electronically stored information (ESI), living it various computers, systems, and environments. ESI’s non-persistent, intangible nature has created new discovery challenges – as locating this data is no longer a physical process. A widely recognized industry-term, eDiscovery refers to the virtual discovery process of ESI.

¿Qué es el eDiscovery?

eDiscovery is the legal process of finding relevant ESI needed for legal, regulatory, and compliance purposes. eDiscovery extends to both the physical data, as well as the “raw data” and “metadata” associated with both structured and datos no estructurados.

For most organizations, the eDiscovery process involves searching through vast amounts of electronic information, including email, documents, databases, image files, instant messages, chats and more. This data lives in laptops, file repositories, SaaS applications, and popular collaborative workspaces – creating a vast digital footprint and a number of non-physical environments to mine for critical, time-sensitive data.

Once ESI is identified as being potentially relevant information for litigation or regulatory purposed, it must be preserved in a sharable format.  Preserving data for legal purposes not only ensures that sensitive information cannot be altered, deleted, erased or tampered with —but a failure to do so can breach eDiscovery compliance protocols and can have severe consequences, including fines and possible criminal prosecution.

¿En qué consiste el proceso de eDiscovery y cómo funciona?

To help organizations successfully navigate the process, the Electronic Discovery Reference Model or EDRM was created to serve as an overarching framework. It has nine distinct stages. These stages are not always a linear progression from one to the other, but a un buen proceso de eDiscovery should include all of them. Several of the stages can (and often should) happen at the same time:

• Information Governance: This is the general strategy any organization should have to mitigate their risks and expenses should eDiscovery be needed—from initial creation of ESI through its final disposition.
• Identification: Locating potential sources of ESI and determining its scope, breadth, and depth.
• Preservation and Collection: Ensuring ESI is collected and preserved – protecting against inappropriate or accidental alteration or destruction throughout the remainder of the  eDiscovery process.
• Processing, Review, and Analysis: This stage refers to the analysis of preserved data. Users commonly convert data to suitable forms for review, then reduce the volume of ESI by evaluating its relevance and privilege. Then analysis commonly requires a thorough evaluation of the context of the ESI, including key patterns, topics, people, or discussions.
• Production: Delivering applicable ESI, articles, and data to others involved in the legal or regulatory proceedings using appropriate methods.
• Presentation: Displaying of ESI before relevant audiences in native or near-native forms for legal purposes.

¿Por qué son importantes las soluciones de eDiscovery?

The sheer amount of data created in a single day is staggering. On average—294 billion emails, 65 billion WhatsApp messages, and 500 million tweets are sent every day globally. By 2025, it is estimated that 463 exabytes de datos will be created each day. And the ease with which such information can be exchanged and stored has only increased. Filing cabinets have been replaced with email and file servers, storage arrays, jump drives, desktops, and even smartwatches—all of which could store relevant information in a legal case and are subject to eDiscovery.

El rápido aumento de las herramientas colaborativas basadas en la nube hace que sea necesario tener en cuenta el eDiscovery de O365, ya que muchas de las primeras iniciativas de eDiscovery se centraban principalmente en los datos locales. Sin las soluciones adecuadas, los responsables de los datos, los administradores y los asesores jurídicos no pueden recopilar y conservar de forma eficaz (y eficiente) la información relevante con fines legales, normativos y de cumplimiento normativo.

Organizations who fail to have a game plan to meet new Requisitos legales para el eDiscoverypodría enfrentarse a graves consecuencias negativas. Por ello, el cumplimiento de la normativa sobre eDiscovery debería ser una prioridad para cualquier organización.

Ventajas de las soluciones de eDiscovery

Para los responsables de cumplimiento normativo, los profesionales del ámbito regulatorio y los administradores de datos, localizar la información relevante resulta más complicado que nunca. A menudo, esto implica buscar información confidencial en los dispositivos de los usuarios, en sistemas dispares y en múltiples entornos. Este laborioso proceso ralentiza el proceso y aumenta el riesgo de pasar por alto información importante y relevante. Las soluciones de eDiscovery proporcionan las herramientas necesarias para agilizar y dar respuesta a las solicitudes relacionadas con litigios, cumplimiento normativo o cuestiones regulatorias.

Los datos pertinentes pueden localizarse fácilmente en una gran variedad de entornos digitales y pueden conservarse rápidamente en formatos exportables para su revisión. Con unos controles adecuados de eDiscovery, las organizaciones se benefician de una reducción de los costes y el esfuerzo, al tiempo que mitigan los riesgos que conlleva el proceso de descubrimiento de la información electrónica (ESI).

Casos de uso habituales de las soluciones de eDiscovery

Las organizaciones de todos los sectores, tamaños y zonas geográficas pueden beneficiarse de las soluciones de descubrimiento electrónico. Entre los casos de uso más habituales se incluyen:

• Preparación para un litigio pendiente
• Respuesta a cuestiones normativas
• Cumplimiento con investigaciones o auditorías externas realizadas por terceros
• Realización de investigaciones internas (como el cumplimiento de las políticas o incidentes relacionados con los recursos humanos)
• Fusiones y adquisiciones

While the eDiscovery process and the need for eDiscovery compliance extends to all forms of electronically stored information, organizations have had an increasing need to focus on specific environments – including Microsoft 365 and laptop devices.

• Microsoft 365 eDiscovery
  Microsoft 365 is one of the most common office productivity solutions in the world. It contains critical files, emails, and messages, all of which are commonly relevant for litigation and regulatory purposes, making O365 Electronic Discovery a critical need for today’s organizations. An effective O365 eDiscovery solution should comprehensively cover Exchange.
• eDiscovery en terminales
  eDiscovery compliance also extends to user laptops and desktops. With the rapid increase in remote work, uso de los dispositivos finales has skyrocketing – driving more data at the edge (and outside of corporate governed networks).

Sin embargo, es posible que las soluciones de eDiscovery que se centran únicamente en los metadatos no sean suficientes para garantizar un cumplimiento riguroso de la normativa en materia de eDiscovery.

¿Ofrece Commvault servicios de eDiscovery?

Yes! Commvault Endpoint Backup & Recovery and Backup de Microsoft 365 offer advanced data management capabilities that make O365 eDiscovery and Endpoint eDiscovery nearly effortless. It provides a single interface to identify, categorize, and securely preserve data across both environments.

This drastically accelerates and simplifies the eDiscovery process. With deep and granular search and export capabilities, eDiscovery empowers users with one, consolidated experience for eDiscovery of Microsoft 365 and Endpoint data. Paired with data protection, organizations now get the best of industry leading backup and recovery, combined with advanced tools to satisfy regulatory compliance requirements with ease and precision.