The Demise of Electronic Discovery's Per-Gigabyte Price Model

http://ow.ly/6sYya

Article by Ben Kerschberg posted on Forbes.com

This article describes the push toward a more cost-effective pricing model for eDiscovery services that the traditional per-GB cost structure.

The article points out views offered by several different experts in computer forensics and eDiscovery.  As the author states, "Per-gigabyte pricing artificially inflates the price of electronic discovery. First, begin with the fundamental premise that the volume of ESI processed by a vendor cannot be equated with the valuederived by clients."

Clients don't like to pay for something they can't use.  Hence, more effective pricing models need to be established, based on the amount of electronically stored information that actually is delivered to the client for attorney review, rather than the amount of data that exists at the start of the project.

The author projects the following developments will take place in the near future, "In a crowded, commoditized market characterized by price elasticity, prices will fall, accompanied by a rush for market share. In this scenario, absent hoped-for and new significant differentiators between vendors, market share may be gained by a race to the bottom when it comes to per-gigabyte pricing—at least while the model lasts. However, vendors must understand that this model will exhaust itself."

SRM Legal already offers optional creative pricing models that deviate from the traditional per-GB pricing model, and can provide per-project pricing in many circumstances.  There is no question that the traditional means of a full per-GB cost will continue to change, as the amounts of electronically stored information rapidly expand.  New improvements in technology will also help ease the burden of eDiscovery costs, as more effective means of enhancing the overall discovery process (including reductions in the attorney review expense through greater reliance on technology) will become more widely accepted.