e-discovery 2.0

Last month, Gartner published the 2011 Magic Quadrant for E-Discovery Software, its first ever Magic Quadrant (MQ) on the electronic discovery industry.

We believe the Gartner MQ signals e-discovery’s arrival as a major category of enterprise software, and creates a single, definitive “buyers’ guide” to help companies choose between the various solutions.  As the report points out, “The reason e-discovery is now a pressing issue for most companies is clear: ESI in all its many forms dominates legal proceedings because modern business is mostly conducted using electronic communications and electronic records. Regulators require this ESI to be archived for proof of compliance.”[1]

The authors of the report, Debra Logan and John Bace, are two of the industry’s leading lights. The report reflects their deep understanding of the domain and includes several keen insights into emerging trends and market dynamics.

Most software buyers are familiar with Gartner Magic Quadrants and the rigorous methodology behind them. In order to be included in the MQ, vendors must meet quantitative requirements in market penetration and customer base and are then evaluated upon certain criteria for completeness of vision and ability to execute. In the Magic Quadrant for E-Discovery Software, Gartner states that, “Ease of use, intuitive user interfaces, attorney-focused workflow, advanced but transparent semantic analysis features, native file format review, and foreign language support are all considered desirable features from the end user’s point of view.”[2] According to the report, “A vendor’s ability and willingness to perform proofs of concept (POCs) is also important, and many references told us that, with certain vendors, “try before you buy” arrangements or POCs were so successful that they did not even open their tendering process to competitive bidding.”[3]

In total, the Gartner Magic Quadrant for E-Discovery Software report analyzes 24 different e-discovery software vendors, and is meant to help CIOs, general counsel, IT professionals, lawyers, compliance staff and legal service providersunderstand the dynamics and landscape of the e-discovery software market. Combined with its analysis of the factors driving the growth of e-discovery and its vendor-by-vendor evaluation, we believe this makes the report a must-read for anyone involved in selecting an e-discovery solution.

For a limited time, please register here to download a complimentary copy of the Gartner Magic Quadrant for E-Discovery Software.

About the Magic Quadrant
The Magic Quadrant is copyrighted 2011 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission. The Magic Quadrant is a graphical representation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner’s analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the Magic Quadrant, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors placed in the “Leaders” quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is intended solely as a research tool, and is not meant to be a specific guide to action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

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[1] Gartner, Inc. “Magic Quadrant for E-Discovery Software”, by Debra Logan, John Bace, May 13, 2011, page 5.

[2] Gartner, Inc. “Magic Quadrant for E-Discovery Software”, by Debra Logan, John Bace, May 13, 2011, page 8.

[3] Gartner, Inc. “Magic Quadrant for E-Discovery Software”, by Debra Logan, John Bace, May 13, 2011, page 9.

Earlier today, Gartner published its eDiscovery MarketScope for 2009. Written by Debra Logan, John Bace, and Whit Andrews, it is perhaps the most comprehensive “buyers guide” available for companies interested in using electronic discovery technology to lower costs.

The eDiscovery MarketScope analyzes about 20 software companies focused on electronic data discovery. Based on extensive interviews with end customers and data from the companies themselves, Gartner rates the companies using criteria similar to those used in its famous Magic Quadrant reports. It also identifies market trends, and makes predictions for 2009 and beyond.

This report is required reading for anyone considering an investment in eDiscovery software, and I strongly recommend that you get a copy, either from Gartner or some other authorized source. To give you a flavor for Gartner’s analysis, a few of its main conclusions are as follows:

1. Bringing eDiscovery In-House Dramatically Reduces Cost

This is a claim that electronic discovery software vendors often make, and prospective customers rightly question. Gartner investigates and finds that many of its corporate clients are saving large amounts of money by using eDiscovery software to reduce the amount they spend on lawyers and legal service providers. It reports that customers typically recover their money from buying eDiscovery software within 3-6 months of implementation.

2. There’s No Single, End-To-End Solution For eDiscovery

Gartner addresses what is probably the most common question I get asked by corporate counsels and litigation support managers – namely, “Isn’t there a single product I can buy that will do end-to-end eDiscovery, covering all aspects of the EDRM?” The answer, of course, is “no” and Gartner goes further by predicting that the answer will remain “no” until at least 2011. So, for the foreseeable future, customers will need to buy best-of-breed products from different vendors for different stages of the EDRM model, and ensure they integrate smoothly.

3. There Are 4 Leading eDiscovery Software Companies

Company	Product
Clearwell	Clearwell E-Discovery Platform
FTI	Attenex, RingTail
Symantec	Discovery Accelerator
Zylab	E-Discovery Management Module

List of vendors achieving highest rating of “strong positive” (from Figure 2, page 10)

Of all the companies it analyzed, Gartner only gives 4 its highest rating of “strong positive”. Each of the four has different strengths. For processing, analysis and review, Clearwell is “fast-to-install and easy-to-use” (page 12) , while FTI’s ability to offer Attenex / RingTail either hosted or on-premise “positions it well for the future” (page 13) . Symantec’s leadership in email archiving makes Discovery Accelerator a good option for its customers who need to search and export data from Enterprise Vault. Finally, Zylab is well-known within law-enforcement circles and has a strong presence in Europe and Asia.

4. There Will Be Consolidation In The Next 12 Months

As the market matures, Gartner predicts that as many as 25% of eDiscovery software providers will either merge, be acquired, or exit the business. Access Data’s ambitious bid for Guidance has publicly put Guidance in play. Beyond that, Gartner suggests that Kazeon and several other players are all likely acquisition targets for larger companies wishing to enter the eDiscovery space.

Of course, Gartner is not the only influential voice in eDiscovery. Earlier this year, George Socha and Tom Gelbmann published their Socha-Gelbmann Survey, which also provides a valuable perspective on the market. How do the two reports compare? That will be the subject of my next post.