Watering Down the Definition of eDiscovery

Based upon a posting on one of the Cloud Computing Blogs that I follow, it appears that Google is tauting some of its new cloud storage and archiving solutions as eDiscovery technology. According a Blog posting by Mike on the On Cloud Computing Blog on July 22, 2009, titled, "Google Docs Get eDiscovery," "Google Apps customers can now employ a sort of safety net to protect corporate documents and files in Google Docs. Called CloudSave, users are able to conduct legal discovery and “un-delete” previously deleted documents as needed."

I am a very big advocate of cloud computing and I have not doubt that this technology has a place in someone's bag of inexpensive archiving tricks.  However, I am leary of defining it as an eDiscovery tool.  But, I wouldn't underestimate Goolge on anything.  And, this solution is not cheap. You can make your own decision.  The full text of Mike's post is as follows:

CloudSave comes courtesy of Salvair, a company that works to increase organizational efficiency through cloud computing solutions. They recently announced the release of version 2 software for Google Docs Archival and eDiscovery. Traditionally, Salvair offers software, services and training for companies evaluating and subsequently implementing Google Apps. Encompassing migration, integration and usability for the enhancement of the Google Apps experience, Salvair focuses on software that supplements Google Apps within the enterprise. By employing CloudSave, documents, spreadsheets, presentations and PDFS can be readily backed up, making it a useful eDiscovery tool. Companies can benefit from the flexibility of archiving documents for an entire domain or for specific users, while enjoying the access and ease of Google Docs.

Because eDiscovery isn’t just for companies, Salvair offers discounted pricing for educational and non-profit organizations. Considering that use of Google Docs is an affordable option for business document suites, not to mention collaboration and messaging, why not use the money you’re saving to ensure security and protection of your files?

Price varies by options but starts at US$ 25 per user, or a minimum of US$ 15,000. By making eDiscovery tools more accessible and easy to implement, Salvair is doing more than helping companies become more organized, they are making them more secure.