eDiscovery Tricks and Treats for 2009

As the beautiful fall days of 2009 slowly drift by and Halloween quickly approaches, I am reminded of some of the tricks and treats facing the eDiscovery market in the remainder of 2009 and into 2010. Therefore, following is my short list of "things" that players, whether users, vendors or consultants, in the eDiscovery market need to face. Some of these items are real "treats". And others may seem like tricks. Overall, its just part of the evolution of the eDiscovery market and therefore I hope that none of these items scare anyone too much!!

1. Its not a trick that the increase in the volume of Electronically Stored Information (ESI) is accelerating at an alarming rate (i.e. paper is so yesterday and tapes are not that far behind).
2. I think that its a real treat that Cloud Computing is taking hold faster than the market thought that it would (not me by the way!)
3. Its going to be a real treat for technology vendors as the "Cloud" emerges as the defacto storage location, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) eDiscovery solutions need to be given serious consideration.
4. Its a real treat that conceptual search technology and advanced analytics (i.e. something a little more robust than keyword searching) is going to be required in more matters than anyone thinks as the eDiscovery vendors move these technologies into mainstream eDiscovery solutions.
5. It's no trick that there is going to be a convergence of eDiscovery and Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) faster than anyone realizes with eDiscovery becoming a sub-market of GRC (where have you heard that before?).
6. It will be a real treat when an integreated SaaS/Cloud based eDiscovery solution emerges later this year or early 2010 that supports the entire EDRM model and most of the requirements for GRC.
7. It may be a trick and certainly no treat for some that Federal and State judges are quickly moving up the eDiscovery learning curve and therefore it is already close to impossible to assume ignorance on the bench and push through outrageous claims regarding almost any issues with ESI and eDiscovery.
8. It will be a real trick for eDiscovery to become a standard practice with standard certifications. But, it will be a real treat when it happens.
9. It will be a real treat when players in eDiscovery better become familiar with terms like Lean Six Sigma and BPM. But, probably a real trick to get is all to work.
10. And, my favorite trick or treat for Halloween 2009 is the prediction that there willl be a matter where all of the responsive and relevant evidence comes from Twitter or Facebook. And, many in the industry will say, "what's Twitter and Facebook?". Better go ask your kids?