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Content Assessment: Drowning in Data Diversity? The Growing Business Impact of Increasing Data Types

Information - 94%
Insight - 95%
Relevance - 94%
Objectivity - 95%
Authority - 96%

95%

Excellent

A short percentage-based assessment of the qualitative benefit of the recent post highlighting issues impacting the business of eDiscovery as reported in the summer 2023 quarterly business confidence survey from ComplexDiscovery.

Editor’s Note: The recent Summer 2023 eDiscovery Business Confidence Survey provides insights into the impact of key issues on the eDiscovery industry. However, to gain a comprehensive understanding of these issues and their potential influence on the business of eDiscovery, it is essential to consider the results collectively, taking into account the findings of all surveys administered to eDiscovery professionals since the survey’s inception.

Launched in January 2016, the eDiscovery Business Confidence Survey has been conducted thirty-one times, amassing a total of 3,085 individual responses. The latest iteration of the survey, carried out in the summer of 2023, gathered responses from 71 participants. By presenting recent results in conjunction with past survey findings, this update aims to shed light on the evolving trends and challenges within the eDiscovery industry, empowering professionals to make informed decisions and address these issues effectively.


Background Note: In an era defined by rapid technological advancements, globalization, and evolving regulatory landscapes, the ability to grasp and respond to key business impact areas is pivotal for professionals engaged in cybersecurity, information governance, and eDiscovery. Here’s why understanding these impact areas and the sentiment related to their potential impact in the next six months is important:

  • Strategic Alignment: The insights from business confidence surveys enable professionals to align their strategies with the current business climate. Recognizing areas of concern and potential impact allows for proactive measures, ensuring that strategies are adaptable and resilient.
  • Cybersecurity Preparedness: With increasing threats to data security, understanding the sentiment related to data security helps cybersecurity professionals gauge the urgency and importance of implementing robust security measures. Anticipating potential risks in the next six months ensures that organizations are prepared to counter emerging threats.
  • Information Governance Compliance: Regulations and compliance standards are continually evolving. Professionals in information governance must be attuned to the impact areas such as increasing types and volumes of data. Understanding these trends enables them to develop governance policies that are not only compliant but also efficient and effective.
  • eDiscovery Efficiency: eDiscovery involves the identification, collection, and legal analysis of electronic information. Awareness of the challenges related to inadequate technology, budgetary constraints, and data volumes helps eDiscovery professionals optimize their processes, ensuring that they are equipped to handle complex legal scenarios.
  • Risk Management: Understanding the potential impact of various business areas in the near future enables organizations to assess and manage risks effectively. Whether it’s budgetary limitations or the lack of skilled personnel, recognizing these challenges ahead of time allows for informed decision-making and risk mitigation.
  • Competitive Advantage: In a competitive market, staying ahead requires continuous adaptation. Insights into business impact areas provide an understanding of the broader business environment, allowing organizations to innovate and stay ahead of competitors.
  • Holistic View for Decision Making: The sentiment related to potential impact areas provides a holistic view of the business landscape. It allows professionals across different domains to make decisions that are informed, strategic, and aligned with both short-term and long-term organizational goals.

The understanding of business impact areas and the sentiment related to their potential impact in the next six months serves as a compass for cybersecurity, information governance, and eDiscovery professionals. It informs strategy, enhances preparedness, ensures compliance, optimizes efficiency, facilitates risk management, and fosters innovation. It’s not merely a reflection of the current state but a predictive tool that guides future actions, ensuring that organizations remain agile, compliant, and competitive in a dynamically changing business environment.

Industry Report

Issues Impacting eDiscovery Business Performance: A Summer 2023 Overview

ComplexDiscovery Staff

The eDiscovery Business Confidence Survey is a non-scientific, quarterly survey aimed at providing insights into the business confidence levels of professionals working within the eDiscovery ecosystem. The survey is comprised of nine core multiple-choice questions centered around factors related to the creation, delivery, and consumption of eDiscovery products and services. Additionally, the survey features three optional questions focused on the business operational metrics of days sales outstanding (DSO), monthly recurring revenue (MRR), and revenue distribution across customer bases.

The Summer 2023 survey encapsulated a diverse range of organizational segments. The majority of the respondents were from Software and/or Services Providers (35.21%) and Law Firms (29.58%). Consultancies (15.49%) and Corporations (9.86%) followed, with Media/Research Organizations, Governmental Entities, and Others also being represented.

In terms of the level of support, the survey represents a balanced cross-section of the industry. Executive Leadership made up the largest group at 38.03%, closely followed by Tactical Execution and Operational Management, each representing 30.99% of respondents.

In each quarterly survey, participants are asked to choose one issue from a list of six options that they believe could have the most significant impact on their eDiscovery business over the next six months. The issues presented are:

  • Budgetary Constraints
  • Data Security
  • Inadequate Technology
  • Increasing Types of Data
  • Increasing Volumes of Data
  • Lack of Personnel

Though not exhaustive, this list of issues provides a practical overview of potential areas that seem to have a direct and ongoing influence on the business of eDiscovery.

Based on the aggregate results of past surveys, the following findings and charted overviews of responses to the question of issues impacting business may be helpful in understanding the collective mindset of many industry experts regarding these issues and their impact on the business of eDiscovery.

Key Findings in the Summer of 2023

The Summer 2023 eDiscovery Business Confidence Survey shed light on a range of top concerns among respondents, underscoring the intricate challenges that organizations encounter in the current data-driven environment. Based on the percentage of responses, the following findings highlight the issues that may most impact the business of eDiscovery for respondents in the next six months. 

In the summer of 2023, 36.60% of respondents viewed increasing types of data as potentially having the greatest impact on their business in the next six months. This percentage is the highest of all concerns in the summer 2023 survey and marks the highest rating in the area of increasing types of data concerns since the inception of the survey in the winter of 2016. The substantial increase from 33.3% in the spring survey further highlights the challenges organizations face in managing and analyzing diverse types of structured and unstructured data. (Charts 1, 2, and 3)

Budgetary constraints continued to be a reasonably consistent concern, with 19.70% of summer 2023 survey respondents viewing budgetary constraint challenges as potentially having a substantial impact on business in the next six months. This was a moderate decrease in this area from the 21.3% response rate in the spring 2023 survey. While the percentage of respondents concerned about budgetary constraints has fluctuated since Winter 2016, it remains a top concern for businesses, emphasizing the need for organizations to allocate resources strategically to effectively tackle this ongoing issue. (Chart 4)

Increasing volumes of data continued to be a significant concern, with 18.30% of summer 2023 survey respondents viewing data volume challenges as potentially having a substantial impact on business in the next six months. This was a measured increase in this area from the 16.0% response rate in the spring survey. This change in concern underscores that organizations continue to grapple with managing the sheer amount of data generated, stored, and analyzed, requiring investments in scalable data storage and processing solutions. (Chart 5)

The percentage of respondents that viewed lack of personnel as a top business concern decreased to 11.30% in the summer of 2023, from 13.3% in the spring of 2023. This fluctuation indicates ongoing challenges in meeting staffing needs, with the existing workforce potentially taking on greater workloads. Organizations should focus on training, retention, and enhanced hiring strategies to address this challenge. (Chart 6)

Respondent’s concern for the impact of data security on business performance decreased to 9.90% during the last quarter from 13.3% in the spring of 2023. Although the percentage has slightly decreased, data security remains a significant challenge throughout the survey period, necessitating continuous investments in cybersecurity measures to protect sensitive information and maintain compliance with privacy regulations. (Chart 7)

In the summer of 2023, the impact of inadequate technology as the top business issue increased by 1.5% from the last quarter to 4.20%. This fluctuating rating emphasizes that organizations must consistently evaluate and update their tools and infrastructure to adapt to the ever-changing data landscape and maintain efficiency and competitiveness, as reflected in the trends since Winter 2016. (Chart 8)

These top concerns highlight the multifaceted challenges faced by eDiscovery professionals and organizations. Addressing these issues demands a comprehensive approach that combines strategic resource allocation, technological investments, and a skilled workforce to effectively navigate the complex eDiscovery landscape.

Considering Thirty-One Quarters of Results from 2016 to 2023

From a top-issue perspective, the following potential issues and the number of quarterly times they have been considered the top concern by survey respondents are shared to create context as to the continuing concerns of eDiscovery professionals.

  • Budgetary Constraints: 15* 
  • Increasing Types of Data: 9
  • Increasing Volumes of Data: 6*
  • Lack of Personnel: 2
  • Data Security: 0
  • Inadequate Technology: 0

* Top concern tied between Budgetary Constraints and Increasing Volumes of Data in the Winter of 2017.

Survey Charts

(Charts Can Be Expanded for Detailed Viewing)


Chart 1: An Aggregate Overview of Issues Impacting eDiscovery Business Performance

Issues Impacting eDiscovery Business Performance – Summer 2023 Aggregate


Chart 2: An Overview of Issues Impacting eDiscovery Business Performance in the Summer of 2023

Issues Impacting eDiscovery Business Performance – Summer 2023


Chart 3: An Overview of the Percentage of Respondents Viewing Increasing Types of Data as the Top Issue Impacting eDiscovery Business

Impact of Increasing Types of Data on eDiscovery Business – Summer 2023 Aggregate


Chart 4: An Overview of the Percentage of Respondents Viewing Budgetary Constraints as the Top Issue Impacting eDiscovery Business

Impact of Budgetary Constraints on eDiscovery Business – Summer 2023 Aggregate


Chart 5: An Overview of the Percentage of Respondents Viewing Increasing Volumes of Data as the Top Issue Impacting eDiscovery Business

Impact of Increasing Volumes of Data on eDiscovery Business – Summer 2023 Aggregate


Chart 6: An Overview of the Percentage of Respondents Viewing Lack of Personnel as the Top Issue Impacting eDiscovery Business

Impact of Lack of Personnel on eDiscovery Business – Summer 2023 Aggregate


Chart 7:  An Overview of the Percentage of Respondents Viewing Data Security as the Top Issue Impacting eDiscovery Business

Impact of Data Security on eDiscovery Business – Summer 2023 Aggregate


Chart 8: An Overview of the Percentage of Respondents Viewing Inadequate Technology as the Top Issue Impacting eDiscovery Business

Impact of Inadequate Technology on eDiscovery Business – Summer 2023 Aggregate


Chart 9: Survey Participant Overview (Aggregate)

Survey Respondents (Individual and Aggregate Overview) – Summer 2023


Chart 10: Survey Participant Overview (Summer)

Survey Respondents – Summer (Individual and Aggregate Overview) – Summer 2023


Complete Presentation – Market Kinetics – Summer 2023 Performance Impact (PDF) – Mouseover to Scroll

0 – Business Confidence – Performance Impact – 080323

Postscript: Rising to the Challenge

The multi-year survey results spanning Winter 2016 to Summer 2023 have unveiled a complex and shifting landscape of business impact areas. Among these, the rise in concerns about the business impact of increasing data types stands out as particularly significant, marking a growing challenge that transcends industries and sectors.

This increasing complexity of data types, paired with other consistent concerns such as budgetary constraints, data security, and the increasing volumes of data, paints a picture of a business environment in constant flux. As organizations grapple with these challenges, the insights from these surveys offer a roadmap to navigate the terrain.

For cybersecurity, information governance, and eDiscovery professionals, these findings are more than statistical observations. They are a call to action, an invitation to innovate, and a challenge to adapt. The growing concerns over the impact of increasing data types underscore the need for robust solutions, strategic alignment, and a forward-thinking approach.

In the face of growing complexity, particularly concerning the increasing types of data, the path ahead is clear: embrace the challenge, leverage the insights, and build a resilient, agile, and successful future.


 
Additional Reading
Source: ComplexDiscovery

 

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