Electronic Data
Discovery
In the electronic age, huge amounts of data are being generated and stored
electronically. Everyday, millions of electronic data pages are being
created, transferred and stored in multiple locations. Most of this data is
very valuable and critical, especially for businesses. Sifting through vast
quantities of data for useful information is an arduous task, which is
almost impossible manually. There are special tools available that enable
faster and more accurate searches of data in vast databases.
Electronic
data discovery is the process of searching, discovering, sorting and
retrieving electronic data from any kind of an electronic source. Electronic
data can be retrieved from virtually any kind of electronic data storage
backup device including personal computers, backup media such as CD ROMs,
floppy disks, tapes, hard disks etc., spreadsheets, CAD/CAM/CAE and
graphics, personnel records, policy and procedure manuals, software and
source code, internet and intranet content, internet service providers, fax
servers, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), telephone /security / network
activity systems, cell phones, pagers, electronic/voice/video mail and
special databases such as CRM or ERP databases.
The process of electronic data discovery involves some stages: generation of
the inventory list; generation of the list of required data that is to be
discovered; creation of validation tools and checklists; data retrieval
using special software tools; and validation of the data. Some tools also
have additional options, such as spell check, field validation, elimination
of duplicate files, data conversion from any file format into any file
format and others. Data filtering is done by identifying different files by
their file extensions, or searching by keywords. Coding and indexing is used
to capture source files, and the final files are converted into the required
format.
Electronic data discovery is a very efficient, cost-effective and fast way
of extracting useful electronic data from vast databases. Special
professionals apply computer forensic techniques for data recovery and
management. These techniques can save thousands of dollars and man-hours.
There are many companies today that are providing exclusive electronic data
discovery services.
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