Managing Legal Risk Through Deployment Choices: On-Prem, Hybrid, or Cloud

Mitigating legal risk should be a top priority for legal experts. Doing so can prevent compliance issues during eDiscovery processes and the losses that come with a damaged reputation. It can also help your law firm or company avoid fines and fees.

According to the Poneman Institute, legal risks can cost companies up to $14.82 million per year. Since this is 2.71 times more than the cost of complying with regulations, avoiding eDiscovery risk is financially critical.

Here, we'll discuss "deployment flexibility" as a strategic advantage for law firms. Read on to learn the ins and outs of matter-based decisions, repeatable criteria, governance, and how to avoid vendor lock-in while meeting security/compliance needs.

What Deployment Options Can Legal Teams Choose From?

Generally, there are three deployment options for eDiscovery professionals to choose from.

On-premise eDiscovery software is locally operated, while cloud-based technology connects with data on secure servers. Hybrid solutions combine these options for the best of both worlds, but different deployment solutions work best for different legal teams.

On-Premise Deployment Strategies

On-premise eDiscovery software is a type of electronic discovery solution that is installed and operated locally on an organization's own servers and infrastructure. There are several benefits, including:

• Allowing organizations to manage, search, and review their electronic data on-site
• Producing and procuring electronic data relevant to legal cases
• Improving regulatory investigation
• Making internal audits safer within a secure environment

This setup provides greater control over data privacy and security. It also increases compliance with specific legal regulations, both federally and locally. More customization options are also available.

However, on-prem eDiscovery also requires significant IT resources for maintenance and updates. Luckily, Reveal Private Deployment (RPD) decreases these costs with:

• Enterprise-grade security
• Confident scalability for growing businesses
• Partnership with dedicated, knowledgeable support professionals
• Connections to several hybrid and complex technologies (e.g. AWS)

Cloud Solutions

Cloud eDiscovery software is a type of electronic discovery solution that is hosted and managed on remote servers via the internet. It is not installed locally on an organization's infrastructure.

Cloud deployment strategies enable organizations to manage electronic data relevant to litigation and court cases through a web-based platform.

Cloud eDiscovery offers advantages such as:

• Scalability
• Ease of access from any location or device
• Reduced need for costly internal IT resources
• Automatic updates
• Constant automated backups
• Collaboration features

This makes it a flexible and cost-effective option for many organizations. Organizations can deploy cloud-based software on both public and private cloud architectures. There's something for everyone since you can deploy Reveal's cloud-based technologies on your own terms.

Hybrid Cloud Benefits

Hybrid eDiscovery software combines elements of both on-premise and cloud solutions. This lets organizations manage electronic data across their internal infrastructure and cloud platforms simultaneously.

A hybrid approach provides flexibility, enabling sensitive or regulated data to stay within secure internal systems. Those using this infrastructure can also leverage the scalability and collaboration benefits of the cloud for other data.

Hybrid eDiscovery offers a tailored balance of control, security, and efficiency. It's ideal for organizations with complex compliance requirements or those seeking a phased approach to digital discovery.

How Can the Right Option Mitigate Legal Risk?

Choosing the right eDiscovery deployment option helps mitigate legal risk by:

• Ensuring compliance with data privacy laws
• Considering regulatory requirements and industry standards
• Reducing the likelihood of data breaches
• Decreasing the potential for evidence mishandling

An appropriate deployment option also:

• Provides better control over sensitive data
• Facilitates secure and auditable processes
• Ensures timely access to relevant information
• Minimizes the risk of data loss or unauthorized access
• Supports defensibility and reduces potential legal liabilities.

IBM reports that a single data breach stemming from unauthorized eDiscovery data access can cost companies $4.4 million. Legal teams can save $1.9 million from using extensive AI in security as well, so using Reveal's AI-powered software is essential for both on-prem and cloud deployment methods.

How Does Reveal Help With eDiscovery Processes?

Reveal has traditionally been a cloud-based eDiscovery SaaS. The all-in-one platform connects with legal data stored within cloud applications. Communications like emails and chats are all included.

However, Reveal has also recently launched a Private Deployment platform made for companies that choose on-prem eDiscovery or hybrid models. It works through your own premises or a private cloud to migrate information between multiple on-site applications and servers.

Regardless of your choice, the technology pulls all your data together. This may include:

• eBooks and other e-materials
• Written documents like Word Docs and PDFs
• Emails
• Chat messages
• Social media posts
• Audio recordings
• Video files
• Encrypted legal documents
• Subpoena-relevant informational documents

At this point, the eDiscovery data is in an all-in-one, easy-to-search dashboard. You don't need to navigate multiple apps and potentially miss relevant information.

All of Reveal's deployment options are powered by AI. This AI makes organizing and reviewing legal documents easier by:

• Automatically tagging files by keyword
• Sorting data by source
• Organizing files, especially messages, by their senders and recipients
• Eliminating duplicate files and data
• Normalizing unstructured data so it's searchable
• Summarizing hard-to-read documents for faster review
• Extracting text from image files and scans
• Transcribing audio and video files for readability
• Translating text between multiple languages

You retain complete control over information while making it easier to read and interpret.

GenAI also makes visualizing data easier by generating charts and heatmaps that you can read with greater confidence. This enables your corporate legal team, law firm, or LSP to craft and present a compelling case on behalf of any client.

Get Started With eDiscovery as a Service Software

Now that you know the ways Reveal can help you deploy eDiscovery software appropriately, it's time to learn more about our top-rated discovery platform.

Reveal doesn't just offer flexible and scalable eDiscovery solutions for all kinds of legal teams and LSPs. We also ensure that products predictably resolve issues during eDiscovery with AI that helps you review and compile evidence more quickly and effectively.

To see how we can assist legal professionals with industry-leading support, training, and technologies, contact us. Then schedule a demo to learn more about the specific ways we can aid in your eDiscovery, regardless of the deployment method you choose.