General Counsel face mounting pressure to justify every technology expenditure, particularly in eDiscovery where costs can spiral quickly without proper oversight. Your board expects clear returns on investment, but eDiscovery technology decisions often involve complex technical considerations that don’t translate easily into business language.
This guide provides a practical framework for making smarter eDiscovery technology investments. You’ll learn how to avoid common procurement pitfalls, build compelling business cases that secure approval, evaluate platforms effectively, and manage implementations that deliver real value to your organisation.
Why ediscovery technology investments often fail to deliver expected roi
Many organisations approach eDiscovery technology procurement reactively, making decisions under litigation pressure rather than through strategic planning. This rush often leads to selecting platforms that address immediate needs but create long-term inefficiencies. Several critical factors contribute to these disappointing outcomes:
- Poor vendor selection practices – Legal teams frequently choose providers based on immediate availability or lowest upfront costs, overlooking critical factors like data security protocols, integration capabilities, and long-term scalability
- Insufficient stakeholder alignment – IT departments discover security requirements after procurement decisions are made, while finance teams learn about ongoing licensing costs only when budgets are already committed
- Lack of clear success metrics – Without baseline measurements for processing times, review costs, or case resolution speeds, organisations cannot demonstrate whether investments improved outcomes
- Inadequate change management planning – New eDiscovery platforms require significant workflow adjustments, but many organisations assume adoption will happen naturally, leading to underutilised expensive technology
- Limited end-user engagement – Staff receive minimal training on new systems, creating resistance to adoption and perpetuating reliance on familiar but inefficient processes
These interconnected failures create a cycle where organisations invest heavily in technology but fail to realise meaningful improvements in efficiency or cost reduction. The result is often vendor lock-in with platforms that become increasingly expensive and difficult to replace, while internal teams struggle with systems that don’t integrate well with existing workflows. Understanding these pitfalls is essential for developing a more strategic approach to eDiscovery technology procurement.
How to build a business case for ediscovery technology that gets board approval
Successful business cases translate technical capabilities into financial impact and strategic value. Board members need to understand not just what the technology does, but how it addresses specific business challenges and delivers measurable returns. Your approach should encompass several key elements:
- Comprehensive cost documentation – Document current eDiscovery expenses across all categories including external vendor fees, internal staff time, storage costs, and opportunity costs from delayed case resolutions
- Systematic savings calculations – If outsourcing document review at £2 per document, demonstrate how in-house capabilities could reduce costs to £0.50 per document, using realistic processing volumes based on litigation history
- Risk mitigation quantification – Research recent sanctions in your jurisdiction and industry to position technology investment as insurance against outcomes that far exceed technology costs
- Implementation timeline clarity – Present realistic timelines with clear milestones, resource requirements, and dependencies to demonstrate thorough planning
- Total cost transparency – Include detailed budgets covering software licensing, hardware requirements, staff training, ongoing maintenance, and hidden costs that often surprise organisations
- Proactive objection handling – Address concerns about internal capability by outlining training plans, or vendor stability concerns with financial health and client retention data
Structure your presentation around a clear problem statement using specific examples from recent cases, followed by your proposed solution with measurable outcomes. This approach demonstrates strategic thinking while providing the concrete financial justification board members require. The key is showing how technology investment aligns with broader organisational objectives beyond just legal department efficiency.
What general counsel should evaluate when selecting ediscovery platforms
Platform selection requires balancing technical capabilities with practical business considerations. Rather than being swayed by impressive specifications you’ll never use, focus your evaluation on factors that directly impact your organisation’s specific needs and constraints:
- Relevant technical capabilities – Assess processing speed based on your typical data volumes and evaluate search functionality using examples from actual cases, not vendor demonstrations with perfect test data
- Vendor stability and longevity – Research funding history, leadership tenure, and client retention rates, as platform migrations are expensive and disruptive in this consolidation-prone industry
- Integration compatibility – Test seamless connections with document management systems, billing software, and case management tools during evaluation rather than assuming compatibility
- Scalability flexibility – Evaluate capacity for fluctuating user numbers, seasonal litigation peaks, and potential international expansion, with cloud solutions typically offering more adaptability
- Security alignment – Ensure encryption standards, access controls, audit logging, and data residency options match your risk tolerance and regulatory requirements
- True cost transparency – Calculate total ownership costs including licensing, implementation, training, support, and upgrade charges, as attractive initial pricing often masks premium rates for essential features
Effective platform evaluation requires moving beyond vendor marketing materials to conduct thorough due diligence. Request references from clients with at least two years of experience, demand detailed security documentation for sensitive data handling, and insist on realistic pricing scenarios rather than minimum configurations. This comprehensive approach ensures your selection supports long-term strategic objectives while delivering immediate operational improvements.
Managing ediscovery technology implementation and change management
Implementation success depends on structured project governance and systematic change management that addresses both technical and human factors. The most sophisticated technology fails without proper adoption strategies and ongoing support structures:
- Dedicated project governance – Establish steering committees with legal, IT, finance, and end-user representatives meeting regularly to address issues quickly and maintain business alignment
- Phased rollout strategy – Begin with pilot projects using smaller cases to identify issues and refine workflows before full deployment, reducing risk while providing concrete benefit examples
- Role-specific training programmes – Provide high-level capability overviews for senior lawyers, detailed operational procedures for paralegals, and technical administration training for IT teams
- Workflow optimisation planning – Map existing processes against new capabilities to eliminate inefficiencies and standardise best practices rather than simply replicating current workflows
- Measurable adoption tracking – Monitor system usage rates, processing times, error frequencies, and cost per document to identify areas needing additional training or workflow adjustments
- Sustained support structures – Establish internal super-users, vendor support channels, and escalation procedures for complex issues, as technology adoption continues long after initial implementation
Successful implementation transforms not just technology capabilities but organisational processes and culture around eDiscovery. This requires sustained commitment beyond the initial deployment phase, with ongoing measurement and refinement to ensure your investment continues delivering value as business needs evolve. The combination of structured governance, comprehensive training, and continuous improvement creates the foundation for long-term technology success.
The complexity of eDiscovery technology decisions requires careful planning and expertise throughout the process. Success depends not just on selecting the right platform, but on building internal capabilities and workflows that maximise your investment’s value. At Iceberg, we understand these challenges because we work daily with legal professionals navigating technology implementations. Our global network includes eDiscovery specialists who can help you build the teams needed to manage these critical technology initiatives successfully.
