The Internet may be enabling companies to reach the global marketplace more quickly and cost-effectively, but it is not necessarily having the same simplifying effect on legal discovery and litigation. In fact, companies involved in litigation today must be prepared to deal with huge amounts of electronically stored information (ESI) as an increasingly important aspect of litigation. Global organizations with overseas affiliates face even greater challenges in managing and translating multilingual ESI according to international law.

The global volume of ESI has increased dramatically in a very short time. In 2005, the total amount of ESI worldwide (the “digital universe”) was 130 exabytes1. In 2011, the digital universe expanded to over 1800 exabytes, enough data to fill 57.5 billion 32GB Apple iPads.2 Legal regulations are also evolving regarding the inclusion of ESI in legal matters. The universe of digital information that must now be protected and preserved has expanded to include the full spectrum of business communications, from e-mail to spreadsheets and databases that may later play a role in litigation3 – and much of it is now stored “in the cloud.” More >>