Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

Content Assessment: Fall 2021 eDiscovery Business Confidence Survey Results

Information - 95%
Insight - 95%
Relevance - 95%
Objectivity - 100%
Authority - 95%

96%

Excellent

A short percentage-based assessment of the qualitative benefit of the recent post highlighting results from the Fall 2021 eDiscovery Business Confidence Survey.

Editor’s Note: The eDiscovery Business Confidence Survey is a non-scientific quarterly survey that shares insight into the business confidence of individuals working in the eDiscovery ecosystem. The survey consists of nine core questions on factors related to the creation, delivery, and consumption of eDiscovery products and services purposed toward cyber, data, and legal discovery tasks. Additionally, the survey contains three optional questions focused on the business operational metrics of days sales outstanding (DSO), monthly recurring revenue (MRR), and customer revenue distribution. Administered for the twenty-fourth time in the fall of 2021, the survey has been conducted seven times during the current global pandemic.


The Fall 2021 eDiscovery Business Confidence Survey Results

The fall 2021 survey response period was initiated on October 5, 2021, and continued until October 12, 2021. The survey was highlighted and promoted primarily by direct email from ComplexDiscovery to cybersecurity, information governance, and legal discovery professionals. This quarter’s survey experienced a strong response rate with 73 eDiscovery professionals sharing their opinions on the business of eDiscovery.

While individual answers to the survey are confidential, the aggregate and unfiltered results are published to highlight the business confidence of participants regarding economic factors impacting the creation, delivery, and consumption of eDiscovery products and services during the fall of 2021. These results may be useful to legal, information technology, and business professionals seeking to better understand current and potential future business conditions as shared by survey participants.


Business Confidence Questions (Required)

n = 73 Respondents

1. Which of the following segments best describes your business in eDiscovery?
Part of the eDiscovery ecosystem where your organization resides

  • Software or Services Provider – 42.5%↑
  • Law Firm – 24.7% ↓
  • Consultancy – 17.8% ↑
  • Corporation – 6.8% ↓
  • Media/Research Organization – 4.1% ↑
  • Other – 4.1% ↑
  • Governmental Entity – 0.0% ↓
1 - Survey Respondents by Organizational Segment - Fall 2021

2. How would you rate the current general business conditions for eDiscovery in your segment?
Subjective feeling of business performance when compared with business expectations

  • Good – 67.1% ↑
  • Normal – 26.0% ↓
  • Bad – 6.8% ↓
2 - Current Business Climate Overview - Fall 2021

3. How do you think the business conditions will be in your segment six months from now?
Subjective feeling of business performance when compared with business expectations

  • Better – 54.8% ↓
  • Same – 41.1% ↑
  • Worse – 4.1% ↑
3 - Business Climate Overview + Six Months - Fall 2021

4. How would you guess revenue in your segment of the eDiscovery ecosystem will be six months from now?
Revenue is income generated from eDiscovery-related business activities

  • Higher – 71.2% ↑ 
  • Same – 23.3% ↓
  • Lower – 5.5% ↑
4 - Revenue Overview + Six Months - Fall 2021

5. How would you guess profits in your segment of the eDiscovery ecosystem will be six months from now?
Profit is the amount of income remaining after accounting for all expenses, debts, additional revenue streams, and operating costs

  • Higher – 50.7% ↓
  • Same – 38.4% ↓
  • Lower – 11.0% ↑
5 - Profits Overview + Six Months - Fall 2021

6. Of the six items presented below, what is the issue that you feel will most impact the business of eDiscovery over the next six months?
Challenges that may directly impact the business performance of your organization

  • Lack of Personnel – 27.4% ↑
  • Increasing Types of Data – 26.0% ↑
  • Increasing Volumes of Data – 16.4% ↓
  • Budgetary Constraints – 15.1% ↓
  • Inadequate Technology – 8.2% ↓
  • Data Security – 6.8% ↓
6 - Issues Impacting eDiscovery Business Performance - Fall 2021

7. In which geographical region do you primarily conduct eDiscovery-related business?
The location from which you are basing your business assessments

  • North America (United States) – 80.8% ↓
  • Asia/Asia Pacific – 8.2.% ↑
  • Europe (UK) – 6.8% ↑
  • Europe (Non-UK) – 1.4% ↓
  • North America (Canada) – 1.4% ↑
  • Central/South America – 1.4% ↑
  • Middle East/Africa – 0.0% ↓
7 - Survey Respondents by Geographic Region - Fall 2021

8. What are best describes your primary function in the conduct of your organization’s eDiscovery-related business?

  • Legal/Litigation Support – 76.7% ↑
  • Business/Business Support (All Other Business Functions) – 16.4% ↓
  • IT/Product Development – 6.8% ↑
8 - Survey Respondents by Primary Function - Fall 2021

9. What are best describes your level of support in the conduct of your organization’s eDiscovery-related business?

  • Executive Leadership – 45.2% ↑
  • Operational Management – 37.0% ↓
  • Tactical Execution – 17.8% ↓
9 - Survey Respondents by Level of Support - Fall 2021

Business Metric Trajectory Questions (Optional)

10. How would you characterize the trajectory of your organization’s Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) during the last quarter?
n=66 Respondents

  • Increasing – 28.8% ↑
  • Unfluctuating – 31.8% ↓
  • Decreasing – 18.2% ↑
  • Do Not Know – 21.2% ↓
10 - eDiscovery Business Metric Trajectory_ Days Sales Outstanding - Fall 2021

11. How would you characterize the trajectory of your organization’s Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) during the last quarter?
n=66 Respondents

  • Increasing – 47.0% ↑
  • Unfluctuating – 25.8% ↑
  • Decreasing – 9.1% ↑
  • Do Not Know – 18.2% ↓
11 - eDiscovery Business Metric Trajectory_ Monthly Recurring Revenue - 2021

12. Which of the following statements best describes the distribution of your organization’s revenue across your customer base during the last quarter?
n=67 Respondents

  • Increasing – 44.8% ↓ 
  • Unfluctuating – 25.4% ↑
  • Decreasing – 6.0% ↓
  • Do Not Know – 23.9% ↓
12 - eDiscovery Business Metric Trajectory - Distribution of Revenue Across Customer Base - Fall 2021

Trend Notes

  • ↑ Increase from the last survey.
  • ↓ Decrease from the last survey.
  • = No change from the last survey.

Past Survey Results

0 - Survey Respondents (Individual and Aggregate Overview) - Fall 2021

Source: ComplexDiscovery

 

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