Information Governance (InfoGovernance) is the specification of decision rights and an accountability framework to encourage desirable behavior in the valuation, creation, storage, use, archiving and deletion of information. It includes the processes, roles, standards and metrics that ensure the effective and efficient use of information to enable an organization to achieve its goals. Information governance should be an element in planning an enterprise's information architecture.

(Gartner Hype Cycle for Legal and Regulatory Information Governance, 2009, December 2009).

An Engagement Area (EA) is an area where the commander of a military force intends to contain and destroy an enemy force with the massed effects of all available weapons systems.

(FM 1-02, Operational Terms and Graphics, September 2004).

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Archiving in the Enterprise: New Magic Quadrant From Gartner

Published on November 10, 2014, the new Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Information Archiving(G00262936) provides information technology and business professionals with information and insight into solutions available to meet compliance and eDiscovery challenges while reducing primary storage costs.
This new magic quadrant is authored by leading Gartner experts to include:
While the complete report is available for purchase from Gartner, general information from the magic quadrant is typically shared by mentioned vendors and media professionals in announcements, commentaries and news stories.
Provided below is the listing of representative enterprise archiving vendors from the report and, where available, vendor public comments on their mention in the magic quadrant.
Enterprise Information Archiving Vendors (Alphabetically Ordered with Links)
Report Mentions from Representative Vendor Websites
We are pleased to announce that Actiance, the creator of Alcatraz, was included in the Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Information Archiving.
Gartner has stated, “By 2019, 75% of organizations will treat archived data as an active and “nearline” data source, and not simply as a separate repository to be viewed or searched periodically, up from less than 10% today.”
Found within the Magic Quadrant, Gartner goes on to say, “GWAVA is one of the few vendors that offers native Gmail archiving support. Retain has the ability to search and take action on outside data sources and to conduct eDiscovery activities across any connected dataset.”
“Broader information governance concerns (regulatory compliance, business-focused retention and deletion of data, and managing aging data based on a clear understanding of its value) are beginning to surpass e-discovery as the primary driver for deploying EIA.”
Gartner, Inc. positions Proofpoint in the Leaders Quadrant in its 2014 Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Information Archiving.
Public Domain Sources:

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Are You Paying Too Much for eDiscovery Processing?

By Lexbe



Lexbe provides eDiscovery software and services for legal professionals at law firms, corporations, and government agencies.  
“Free eDiscovery Processing” sounds too good to be true. Until now, you may have spent many hundreds of dollars per GB to process native documents like Outlook Email and Microsoft Office files into paginated reviewable formats like TIFF or PDF. So how can those charges simply disappear? The revolutionary answer lies with Lexbe’s secure, scalable cloud technology.
Click here for a demonstration of Lexbe eDiscovery Platform features, a 15 day trial, or for any additional information.
To learn more about Lexbe, visit Lexbe.com

Monday, November 10, 2014

Visualizing Data in a Predictive Coding Project

By Ralph Losey
Soon all good predictive coding software will include visualizations like this to help searchers to understand the data. The images can be automatically created by computer to accurately visualize exactly how the data is being analyzed and ranked. Experienced searchers can use this kind of visual information to better understand what they should do next to efficiently meet their search and review goals.

Sunday, November 9, 2014

The Pendulum Swings: Practical Measurement in eDiscovery

By Herbert L. Roitblat, Ph.D
Until a few years ago, there was basically no effort expended to measure the efficacy of eDiscovery. As computer-assisted review and other technologies became more widespread, an interest in measurement grew, in large part to convince a skeptical audience that these technologies actually worked. Now, I fear, the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction and it seems that measurement has taken over the agenda. Some of the early reported cases involving disputes over the use of predictive coding and some proselytizing by pundits, including probably me, have convinced people that measurement is important. But we risk losing sight of the really important problem, that is good quality eDiscovery.

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Is Social Media Risky? Organizational Considerations (Cartoon and Clip)

The Cartoon and Clip of the Week for November 7, 2014

Daily we read, see and hear more and more about the organizational risks associated with social media use. This week’s cartoon and clip highlights a unique approach to dealing with social media risk (cartoon) and some considerations for thinking about and evaluating organizational risk and cost related to social media (clip).


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Organizational Risk and Costs
While the benefits of social media use in the workplace can be great, the risks associated with social media usage by organizational employees can also be great.   These risks, many times grouped according to their origin as a data risk, a behavior risk, and/or a technology risk, can have a significant impact on key organizational areas to include but not limited to:
  • Revenue: The potential for organizational revenue loss based on reputation damage and confidential information exposure.
  • Productivity: The potential for organizational productivity loss based on too much time spent on social networks and use of social networks to undermine management by circumventing established hierarchy and workflow patterns.
  • Security: The potential organization information system security compromise based on the introduction of malware into technology systems and uncontrolled exchange of data.

A Simple Framework for Considering Social Media Risk

In order to appropriately evaluate and address potential social media risk within an organization, its important to have a simple and understandable approach from which to begin considering an organization’s social media landscape.   While there are many tactics and techniques for evaluating and addressing potential social media risks, the following four steps may provide a useful and overarching framework for beginning to consider social media risk:

Detection:
  • Do you have a risk related to social media? (Example:  Potential or Actual Risk)
  • Have you done an impact analysis on how the social media risk might impact the organization?  (Example:  Acceptable or Unacceptable Risk)
Identification:
  • Have you identified the social media networks that might contribute to social media risk with the organization?  (Example:  LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter)
  • Have you identified employees that may be using social networks in the workplace?  (Example: Individuals, Workgroups, Departments)
Location:
  • Have you determined the location where social networks are being accessed?  (Example:  Inside Corporate Firewall, Outside Corporate Firewall)
  • Have you established policy or guidance addressing the access of social networks by employees?  (Example:  Social Media Usage Policy, Corporate Communication Device Usage Policy)
Reporting:
  • Do you have a system in place to monitor usage of social media networks?  (Example:  Active Technology Monitoring, Passive Human Sampling)
  • Have you established an individual, workgroup, or department as the lead in assessing social media usage reports?  (Example:  Director of Human Resources, Office of Compliance, IT Department)
While there are many additional considerations that could be added to this short listing, the benefit of the framework is that it can help you get started evaluating and addressing social media risk in an intentional and proactive manner.

Friday, November 7, 2014

Selecting an eDiscovery Vendor is Like Buying the Right Car – but Don’t Forget about the Dealership

By Andreas Mueller
In a sea of 600+ e-discovery providers in the US alone, trying to find the right vendor to meet and fulfill your requirements is difficult. Like purchasing a car, you have a choice of vendors that range from local, to regional and national providers. Some that use their own technologies, others that use off-the-shelf products and a few others that provide traditional processing and hosting services spawned from the paper world.
This article will walk you through a decision making process to provide guidance when evaluating e-discovery vendors that best meet your current and anticipated needs.

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Records Management and Unstructured Data: File Analysis Paralysis? (Cartoon and Clip)

The Cartoon and Clip of the Week for October 31, 2014

Daily we read, see and hear more and more about the challenges of managing unstructured data stores in information governance and eDiscovery. This week’s cartoon and clip highlights a unique records management challenge faced by many corporations today (cartoon) and a research firm’s aggregated listing of 28 file analysis software vendors than can contribute to increased efficiency in information management decisions for unstructured data (clip).


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Reduce File Analysis Paralysis

Click here to learn more about solutions for unstructured data file analysis .