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According to a recent survey conducted by 451 Group and Tier1 Research, a vast majority of survey respondents said they would not use cloud vendors for eDiscovery purposes with with 84 percent citing unauthorized access and security as their main concerns. This is probably a big worry for record keepers in general, and it shows that cloud vendors still have a long a way to go when it comes to alleviating underlying security concerns, especially when it involves sensitive data. But is this concern warranted?

Data Leaks Happen Everywhere

Let's face it, enterprises are not immune to data leaks. They happen all the time. Is data really more secure behind the firewall? It's probably no more or less secure than it is in the cloud. Cloud vendors after all will tell you that they go out of their way to protect your data, probably taking steps far beyond those that the average enterprise would take because their livelihood depends on maintaining the strictest security possible. Have cloud leaks happened? Of course they have, but because data is in the cloud does not mean it's any more or less secure than it is in-house. That's in my view a false sense of security on the part of these respondents.

Data's Probably Leaving Right Now

The respondent job titles, according to the report released on the survey, were varied and included presidents, executive information officers, attorneys and various records keeping and eDiscovery professionals. 94 percent came from North America, which probably has the most litigation and the most reason for concern. All that said, in a litigation process, it's entirely likely that information is being shared with law firms outside the firewall. Whether the respondents acknowledge it or even recognize it, the data is very likely moving in and out of the firewall quite frequently. 

In fact, there is probably lots of data leaving the enterprise on a daily basis. It's the nature of modern business to share data with partners, suppliers and customers. With eDiscovery, there is a back and forth process of sharing between the enterprise lawyers and the plaintiff's lawyers. Any time you share data, there is always the chance of a leak, but it doesn't mean you don't do it.

eDiscovery and Record Keeping Will Come Around to the Cloud

Records keepers have legitimate concerns about moving data to the cloud, and I don't want to minimize them, but like everything else, it comes down to a cost-benefit analysis. 

Computing in general seems to be moving to the cloud, both in-house in private clouds, and externally with cloud vendors. There will always be data leaks, regardless of how you process and store your data, but I'm confident record keepers will come around to the cloud simply because it's more cost effective, and eDiscovery is a particularly labor-intensive and expensive process. Enterprises have to be looking at ways to reduce costs around litigation, and the cloud offers one way to do that. Companies would be crazy not to at least consider it.

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It was contributed by a community member and is published "as is." It seems to have worked for at least one person, and might work for you. But please be sure to test, test, test before you do anything drastic with it.