International eDiscovery: How Your Small Law Firm Can Now Partner with Anyone, Anywhere!

23 July 2018 by Anith Mathai eDiscovery small-law-firm

Small law firms around the world are now beginning to partner with each other. But international eDiscovery comes with some challenges. What’s the solution? Cloud eDiscovery and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). They let you access software and data from anywhere in the world – quickly, easily, and cheaply.

Many small law firms now collaborate across national boundaries.

It’s inevitable in an increasingly globalized world. So, how does a firm in New Zealand or Australia, for example, collaborate with their partners in Hong Kong or Switzerland?

International eDiscovery comes with some challenges.

For one, where do you store your data? And how do you sync it with your partner firms? After all, it takes longer (and costs more) to transfer data between countries (or even, between different regions in the same country). Which gets annoying with time-sensitive cases.

The solution is Cloud eDiscovery and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).

But what are they? And how do they work? Well, to understand this, let’s take a quick look at how eDiscovery evolved.

In the early days of eDiscovery, you’d store eDiscovery data on your own servers.

In the 2000s, eDiscovery wasn’t readily available. In fact, only larger firms could afford it. They’d buy custom-made software and stored their data on their own private servers. This is called on-premises hosting. The problem is it’s expensive and needs a lot of technical know-how. You have to install specialized hardware and software – which can be a long and complicated process. And you have to maintain them yourself. You also need to use advanced digital security to protect your data from viruses, malware, and theft.

Soon, eDiscovery vendors started offering to store data on their servers, for a small cost.

The data would be backed up on multiple servers – called a server farm. And the vendors would handle all the technical issues. But this still cost a lot. Private servers eat a lot of electricity, are routinely hacked, and need infrastructure that can withstand natural disasters like fires and floods. Also, you’ll need a trained IT team to manage them 24/7 and troubleshoot problems.

The real breakthrough came with Cloud-hosting.

Software giants like Amazon and Google started to lease storage and computing power to businesses all over the world. And their thousands of interconnected servers formed a ‘Cloud.’ The Cloud has been around for a while, now. In fact, if you use Dropbox, Google Drive, or any Apple product, then you’re already in the Cloud. And Cloud computing lead to SaaS (Software as a Service). Here, instead of downloading and installing eDiscovery software, you simply access it over the internet. The software runs in the Cloud and is looked after by your eDiscovery provider.

Cloud eDiscovery has many advantages.

It cuts costs: The more people there are in the Cloud, the less the costs for each. That’s the beauty of Cloud economics. And since the Cloud-providers host millions of people, you pay much less than if you store data on private servers.
It’s secure: The high-performance cloud servers come with bank-grade security. Which means your data is as secure with them as your online banking information is with your bank. The data is encrypted both when it’s being transmitted and when it’s stored on their servers. Plus, since the data is on multiple servers in different locations, no one event can destroy it.
You get great technical support: Cloud-servers are looked after by skilled engineers. So, you don’t have to worry about hiring an IT team to handle technical issues. And you’re guaranteed great service because the best minds don’t go to small companies offering you private servers – they go to Cloud-giants like Amazon and Google.

But most importantly, Cloud technology makes international eDiscovery possible – and cost-effective.

Since the software runs in the Cloud, you can use it from anywhere. So, partner law firms in, say, Ireland and England, won’t have to each download the software and data. They’d just open their internet browsers, go to the eDiscovery website, and sign in. It’s the same as checking email. And the best eDiscovery providers will set up their software in your country’s Cloud-servers. So they can tweak their processes to follow your local eDiscovery laws. And save you time and money by not shuttling data back-and-forth across regions.

Looking for affordable Cloud eDiscovery software? Try GoldFynch.

It’s a next-generation eDiscovery application that prioritizes things that matter to small law firms.

It takes just minutes to get going. It runs in the Cloud, so you use it through your web browser (Google Chrome recommended). No installation. No sales calls or emails. Plus, you get a free, fully-functional trial case (0.5 GB of data and processing cap of 1 GB), without adding a credit card.
Pay just $27 per month for a basic 3 GB case. That’s significantly less–every month–than the nearest comparable software. And hundreds of dollars cheaper than many others. GoldFynch’s pricing is transparent and readily available on the website.
Pricing is prorated and up-front. So it’s simple to budget for it. With legacy software, the billing is complicated and opaque, and your bill changes depending on how much data you use.
Got a small case that might become a large one later? GoldFynch scales from small to large. So, choose from a range of case sizes (3 GB to 150 GB, and more) and don’t waste money on space you don’t need – you can upgrade/downgrade your case in seconds. Plus, you don’t need to pay to ‘unlock’ premium features. You’ll have the full power of GoldFynch even with a starter case.
You get the best technical support: It’s designed, developed and run by the same team. So, the technical support isn’t outsourced. Which means prompt and reliable service.

Want to find out more?

For more about eDiscovery for small law firms, check out these articles.

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