Cloud Computing and Electronic Discovery

CHAPTER 2 The Proliferation of Data Available for Discovery

James P. Martin and Harry Cendrowski

The same technologies that make cloud computing possible (i.e., the pervasive availability of high-speed wide-area network connections for devices of all kinds) have also enabled the capture of data related to virtually every aspect of our lives. Smart devices are in communication with central data repositories exchanging information about our personal habits and preferences, where we go, and what we do. E-mail and other communication are available at our fingertips, no matter where we are, and a host of social media applications keep us in constant communication with friends and business contacts; this data is also correlated in databases designed to help marketers serve us with advertising intended to be specific to our needs.

The industry and technologies that capture and collate this expansive set of personal information is often referred to as Big Data. Big Data vendors promise enhanced customer interactions, more specifically, the ability to more accurately target potential buyers at the moment they are considering a purchase; this is their stated reason for collecting all that data. Device and operating system manufacturers design their systems to capture and share data with Big Data, and, in turn, utilize big data to refine their offerings. Advertising revenue driven by Big Data is the engine that makes many of the services available in the cloud “free” of cost.

From a litigation ...