Retention, Legacy Data Clean-up and Defensible Disposition

Strategic & Responsible Data Destruction Minimizes Legal Costs and Risks

Holding on to data indefinitely is tempting—and may appear to be easier than proper records management practices—but the practice comes at a significant price to organizations. According to global analyst firm, Gartner, “content has no value unless it is used within business processes.”

Regulatory authorities have established clear guidelines (i.e., Federal Rules of Civil Procedure) about what data must be retained and for how long. When those guidelines are not followed, organizations may compound the complexity of responding to disclosure requests or even incur sanctions if potentially relevant information has been destroyed prematurely.

To neutralize eDiscovery cost and risk, organizations must perform “legacy data clean-up” and implement a proper filing plan to classify documents. This action fosters “defensible disposition” which ensures the method of disposing of unneeded data can be presented in court as reasonable and consistent. In-house eDiscovery software, which is typically used in reaction to disclosure requests, can be re-purposed for this proactive endeavor. External service providers can also prove to be invaluable for performing this work.

In any case, the organization needs to be prepared to suspend and review its retention policy as soon as litigation can be reasonably anticipated. Following a documented methodology will ensure that data is retained for appropriate time frame and that the disposition of data is fully defensible. Plus, proper records management and destruction policies can dramatically increase business efficiency, minimize legal risk and reduce costs in the event of litigation.

Sample Use Cases: 

• eDiscovery: If a company faces a regulatory inquiry, an eDiscovery, or an eDisclosure, the volume of the information that attorneys are given to review is directly proportional to your legal fees. Proper records management with clear retention and destruction policies can dramatically increase business efficiency, minimize legal risk and reduce cost in the event of litigation. See ZyLAB eDiscovery & Production System.
• Pro-Active Intelligent Governance: ZyLAB’s open, XML-based solutions, including advanced text, audio and image search in combination with state-of-the-art content analytics and data visualization, transform reactive eDiscovery responses into proactive intelligent governance. This incorporates fully integrated Enterprise Information Archiving for email, SharePoint, file shares and various databases and collaboration systems that reside in-house or in the cloud. Additionally, proactive Intelligent Governance encompasses systems and documented methodologies for Legacy Information Clean-up and Defensible Disposition, which allow organizations to organize digital data collections, limit risk, and gain strategic insight into their data. See ZyLAB Compliance & Litigation Readiness System.
• Enterprise Information Management: Retention policies can be executed and early case assessment can be implemented. All data collected from file shares can be indexed (also incrementally) and every action taken on the data can be audited. SharePoint projects and documents can be archived based on various policies (closed, size, age, people involved, set retention or expiration date, activity) into an open and sustainable file format (such as XML and native files). See ZyLAB Information Management Platform.