But what is it and why should legal professionals care?

With the explosive growth in volume, velocity, and diversity of data produced by mobile devices and cloud applications, the Canadian legal world has begun to grasp the benefits of using and leveraging big data with the aim of being flexible and effective in their profession.

The percentage of IT decision-makers at mid-sized to large organizations surveyed who said they expect the amount of data they store to double in the next two to three years. That same survey found that more than 75 percent are implementing Big Data-related solutions within the next 12 months.

- Global Enterprise Big Data Trends: 2013 from Microsoft

How big is Big Data?

It is a term used for data sets that are so large or complex that traditional data processing applications are inadequate. According to the Gartner IT Glossary, big data is high-volume, high-velocity and high variety information assets that demand cost-effective, innovative forms of information processing for enhanced insight and decision making. (reference: gartner.com/it-glossary/big-data)

Typically, the explosion of information (unstructured data generated by all kinds of devices, networks and programs e.g. sensors, mobile devices, internet, social networks, computer simulations, satellites, radiotelescopes, etc.) makes the management of big data an issue. For efficient retrieval and management, big data’s explosion requires an index scheme that can rapidly and effectively solve indexing issues.

Big Gain or Big Pain?

Legal professionals need to shift their line of thinking to adopt better tools to help them advocate for their clients. For the litigant it is an additional source of legal certainty and provides future predictions based on previously collected data. It will have the means to know what they can claim and the likelihood of success of an action. The legal world should go Big… and look at big data as a tool to improve their practice. When selecting and comparing different technology solutions and systems, legal professionals must consider the needs of their clients and also their whole team.

Leverage the new era of data and bring Big Data to the center of your organization.

Join us in Toronto at the 9th annual Technology in Practice to find out how ediscovery can enhance your practice of law and uncover innovative ways to manage Big Data by indexing, processing and making it discoverable.