Growth in e-discovery software market to increase through 2011

E-discovery software market increased by 25 per cent in 2009 to $1bn

Increased litigation books e-discovery market

Growth in the e-discovery software market on the back of increased commercial litigation will continue until 2011 following a revenue increase of 25 per cent on 2008 to an impressive $1bn.

The software is used for the ID, preservation, collection, and review of electronically stored information associated with legal and government proceedings.

The market’s expansion can be explained by increased litigation around bribery and corruption, foreign corrupt practices securities, financial and healthcare fraud as well as government contracting abuses.

Research vice president at Gartner Tom Eid said: “Unplanned events in these areas highlight the need for more effective information strategy and policies around information governance.”

E-discovery technology can be provided as a stand-alone application, embedded in other applications or services, or accessed as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) offering.

Eid said that the e-discovery market is in a period of both growth and consolidation that should last through 2011.

Market and technology consolidation will continue as vendors expand their product and service portfolios, obtain market specific expertise, and acquire new customer bases.

As the market moves from an emerging to a high-growth market, the research firm expects to see new vendor entrants and non-traditional competitors who will participate through technology partnerships and acquisitions.