When we think of eDiscovery, we think of all kinds of electronically stored information (or ESI as they say in the business). Traditionally, email has been among the most commonly requested forms of ESI. Is this changing? According to a recent survey by security firm Symantec, email is still topping the list in terms of eDiscovery requests. But there are other kinds of data that are becoming important as well.
eDiscovery survey shows surprising figures
In a survey of over 2,000 enterprises worldwide, company lawyers and technologists revealed some interesting figures. The survey doesn’t indicate how many organizations received the survey versus how many responded, but these figures should give us a good idea of the general trends out there. When discussing how frequently various electronically stored information was requested during legal procedures or regulatory processes, the survey yielded some surprising results.
Based on a survey of over 2000 businesses, eDiscovery requests include email data over 50% of the time. Click To TweetIn terms of files and documents, 67% of eDiscovery requests were directed to these kinds of data. 61% of requests focused on application and database records. 58% were for email records, and 51% were for Microsoft SharePoint records.
The least likely kinds of data to be requested were messaging formats like IM, texts and Blackberry messages at 44%. Not surprisingly, an interesting jump in frequency was seen regarding social media data, at 41%.
eDiscovery requests include email data over 50% of the time
What is the standout result in this survey? That email is requested for eDiscovery during legal and regulatory proceedings in more than 50% of the cases. Unexpectedly high figures, don’t you think? The result only amplifies the fact that secure email archiving for eDiscovery is absolutely crucial for businesses.
In another interesting result, 44% of companies said that they had not implemented a formal data retention policy. This is alarming, as such a policy is essential for full compliance. Without it, data can get swept under the rug.
The lesson? Get email securely archived with a reliable email archiving appliance and integrate it in a company-wide data retention policy. Otherwise, your organization could face a lot of litigation woes.
For more information on the importance of email archiving for your business, download our ebook “8 Ways of Managing Your Company’s Email Effectively with Email Archiving” by clicking the image below.
