| Electronic discovery is the process of retrieving | | | | organization's structure, the main people involved |
| useful data and information from electronic | | | | in electronic data creation and transfer, the |
| sources. With the increasing use of electronic | | | | communication flows in the organization setup, the |
| devices for data transfer and storage, obtaining | | | | type of documents used, the kind of corporate |
| valuable information from the millions of data | | | | archiving used, and even information about the |
| pages is an arduous task. Moreover, electronic | | | | end users of the data created. An understanding |
| discovery is very important for dealing with | | | | of common data errors and distortions in the data |
| litigations and government investigations. It is also | | | | flow would also help in electronic evidence |
| required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. | | | | discovery. Electronic evidence discovery is used |
| Electronic evidence can be obtained from user | | | | mostly in litigations and lawsuits. |
| files, backup media, spreadsheets, CAD/CAM | | | | Electronic evidence discovery is a very useful tool |
| CAE and graphics, personnel records, policy and | | | | for attorneys. There are special software tools |
| procedure manuals, software and source code, | | | | available today for electronic evidence discovery. |
| internet and intranet content, internet service | | | | Data mining software programs such as SPSS |
| providers, fax servers, Personal Digital Assistants | | | | can also be used for evidence discovery. These |
| (PDAs), telephone /security / network activity | | | | tools not only extract data but also review it, |
| systems, cell phones, pagers, voice/video mail and | | | | thus minimizing costs and time. The data can also |
| special databases such as CRM or ERP. The main | | | | be shared across multiple locations over the |
| aspects to be considered are the type of data to | | | | Internet or a local network system. Some tools |
| be collected, the potential sources of the required | | | | also have foreign language support. The minimum |
| data, identification of the people who are likely to | | | | PC requirements for installing this software are: |
| have access to the data, and the most likely | | | | MS Windows, preferably 2000 Pro, MS .NET |
| places where high amounts of data can be found. | | | | Framework, MS Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher, |
| It is very important to understand an | | | | MS SQL Server 2000 and MS IIS 5.0 or 6.0. |