New Data-Archiving Rules Good News For VARs

Most vendors and solution providers have yet to see a surge in demand for their products and services spurred by the new rules. But the opportunities for solution providers are likely to grow. At one level, demand for data archiving and protection systems like those provided by NavigateStorage is likely to increase as businesses begin to understand the new requirements.

The rules are also likely to drive demand for solution providers with expertise in developing policies and business processes for retaining, protecting and disposing of electronic records. Solution providers like A! Consulting Group that combine data archiving technology and services with legal know-how will be especially sought after.

"This is where we look to partners and our distribution channel to provide expertise," FileNet's Rhinehart says. FileNet's flagship product, FileNet P8, automates the capture and storage of electronic documents. But FileNet relies on channel partners to provide proficiency in business processes such as managing legal records, as well as developing specific tools such as software used to "redact" documents (remove privileged or irrelevant information) before submitting them for litigation.

Zantaz relies on its channel partners, which range from large service companies like IBM Global Services to small "boutique" companies, to resell its EAS products, provide first- and second-level support, and offer a range of professional services such as expertise in document management processes. Zantaz's software, for example, includes a "policy engine" for setting parameters for archiving e-mails (such as determining which ones to keep and for how long), but it takes business and legal acumen to establish those parameters. That's one of the key services A! Consulting Group provides its law firm customers.

Along with Filenet and Zantaz, leading vendors in the electronic record management space include EMC, which offers a broad range of e-mail archiving, content management, data security and digital rights management systems; Network Appliance and its line of data storage, protection, archiving and compliance hardware and software products; OpenText with its Livelink ECM document and e-mail management and archiving solutions; and Symantec whose Enterprise Vault product helps businesses archive e-mails, instant messages, and other electronic records.

Anticipating the new Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Symantec in August debuted a new release of its Enterprise Vault Discovery Accelerator tool for locating archived electronic records needed for civil litigation or investigations. The software helps legal teams enforce "legal holds" on material that needs to be retained indefinitely for litigation, says David Campbell, Enterprise Vault product marketing manager. (EMC provides a similar "lock-down" capability in its Documentum document management software.) Symantec also provides APIs to third-party developers of legal and e-mail analysis applications to link their software to Enterprise Vault and Discovery Accelerator.

Between 60 percent and 70 percent of Symantec's Enterprise Vault sales are through channel partners, Campbell says, and most of those sell to IT management. But Campbell says the new Federal Rules of Federal Procedure "effectively bring a business issue to the IT world" and offer solution providers the opportunity to meet up with business managers (such as those charged with records management) and corporate legal counsels " all in a position to influence IT buying decisions.

In a case of a vendor teaming up with a reseller to develop a solution to the "e-discovery" problem, OpenText unveiled in October Livelink ECM " Litigation Management, software for managing the process of searching for electronic documents needed for court cases. The package combines OpenText's records management software with TCDI's ClarVergence litigation-support applications. The combined software, which both companies sell, complies with the new federal rules, says Bill Forquer, executive VP of OpenText's compliance solutions business.

"Some of these e-discovery costs can reach millions and millions of dollars very quickly, even in a small case," says Bill Johnson, CEO of Greensboro, N.C.-based TCDI.

NEXT: The cost of locating e-records.