Microsoft and ProSearch Strategies are partnering to provide Office 365 support for eDiscovery and information governance. As part of the effort, ProSearch has joined the Microsoft eDiscovery alliance and formed an Advanced eDiscovery practice for Office 365.
The Advanced eDiscovery practice for Office 365 will help corporations and law firms "control costs and save time and resources," ProSearch said in a prepared statement. In addition, ProSearch plans to extend Advanced eDiscovery connectivity with Microsoft Azure and views the Equivio Analytics text analysis package in Office 365 as "the next logical step in enabling clients to continue to gain insight, control and efficiency in their eDiscovery workflow."
ProSearch offers solutions built on IBM Watson, IPRO eCapture evidence processing software and other data analysis technologies. These solutions are designed to help corporations and law firms meet their eDiscovery, regulatory and legal document investigatory and discovery requirements, according to the company.
What Is eDiscovery?: Here's A Refresher Course
eDiscovery involves the identification, collection and production of electronically stored information (ESI) for a lawsuit or investigation. Moreover, managed services are available to help corporations and law firms eliminate eDiscovery costs and challenges.
The demand for eDiscovery managed services may increase over the next several years, which is reflected in recent eDiscovery market projections.
Markets and Markets has predicted the global eDiscovery market will expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23.4 percent from 2016 and 2021 and be worth $22.62 billion by 2021. The market research firm also pointed out North America is expected to contribute the maximum eDiscovery market share between 2016 and 2021.
eDiscovery Acquisitions and Mergers on the Rise
Several companies have been involved in eDiscovery acquisitions and mergers over the past few months, including:
- Franklin Data: Acquired eDiscovery and IT security provider Scarab Consulting in November.
- Special Counsel: Purchased eDiscovery managed services company D4 in October.
- Epiq Systems and DTI: Announced a $1 billion merger to offer managed services and legal process outsourcing (LPO) capabilities.
As the demand for eDiscovery services increases, the push for MSPs that specialize in eDiscovery may rise accordingly.
