The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/116777
Focusing an organization's attention on managing unstructured data can be a daunting task, but putting a governance structure around the problem will allow organizations to develop a process-based, technology-enabled and targeted approach to retain that which it should intentionally, and dispose of the rest. Initially, organizations must look to their existing policies and processes to guide the strategic direction of a data management project. A company's approach will vary based on its organizational priorities and structure. Each organization's "problem" areas will differ — high-risk or high-volume data repositories, repositories slated for migration to the cloud or a data center, business decisions such as acquisitions or divestitures, etc. Next, organizations can avoid completely reinventing the wheel by looking to industry-leading organizations with bestpractices models that can serve as frames of reference. Some of the more prominent include: • ARMA's Generally Accepted Record-Keeping Principles (GARP) • The Information Governance Maturity Model (IGMM) • The Information Governance Reference Model (IGRM) Policy, like any other tool, can only take you so far; organizations need a means of implementing their policy-supported How's adoption of the electronic matter file working out for you? It may be time to RETHINK your approach to Matter Centricity. goals, typically through the application of a documented process and supporting technology. TYPES OF TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT It's certainly important to know what information you own and whether it has value to the organization or is associated with any prescribed retention periods. But there's typically too much information within an organization to examine each piece and make an individual determination. This is where technology comes in. "Crawling" technology can assist legal or IT teams in locating information and documenting how the data and repositories are organized. Other types of technology can help you understand and infer the characteristics of unstructured information. Data visualization tools can provide an idea of the type of content you have. Technology-assisted review tools can be trained to "learn" and "assess" whether documents are of value or not — as long as those training the tool have both the authority and experience to "teach" the tool how to predict the rest. In addition to helping inform governance decisions, these tools are very helpful in applying compliance functions to unstructured information. Whether you're dealing with personally identifiable information, protected health information, data subject Rethink Matter Centricity Milan for WorkSite Balance the firm's need to mitigate risk with the professional's need to work more effectively • Put the responsible lawyer in control of their matters • Eliminate IT bottlenecks, automate processes, and streamline administration • Tailor client security and privacy to the matter without sacrificing the ability of teams to collaborate Solutions for WorkSite, SharePoint, email, and mobile working www.prosperoware.com/rethink 52 Peer to Peer