A Practical Approach for Proven Information Governance Results

According to Gartner, information governance specifies decision rights and accountability frameworks that ensure the appropriate behavior in the valuation, creation, storage, use, archiving, and deletion of information. Information governance, Gartner highlights, also includes processes, roles, policies, standards, and metrics that ensure the effective and efficient use of information in enabling an organization to achieve its goals.(1)

As a leading provider of cyber, information governance, and legal discovery solutions for legal, information technology, and business professionals, HaystackID has an extensive portfolio of targeted and customizable service solutions that help address the many challenges of information governance. These solutions enable organizations to:

  • Handle the proliferation of electronic documents.
  • Address the increasing complexity of policy, regulatory, and legal requirements.
  • Reduce exposure, risk, and costs associated with cyber incidents.
  • Decrease corporate legal costs and related litigation and investigation expenses.
  • Manage the use of technology to support governance, risk, compliance, and discovery matter management.

HaystackID enables organizations to realize and experience the benefits of these efforts through the framework of a six-step information governance methodology.

A Process for Information Governance Maturity

HaystackID has developed and refined a six-step methodology that guides and defines our approach to helping organizations increase their information governance (IG) maturity. These steps range from solidifying IG foundational elements to securing data, applications, systems, and networks.


Six-Step IG Methodology

Six-Step IG Methodology Graphic

These six steps are comprehensive enough to address the myriad of disciplines included in the information governance ecosystem yet sufficient to properly frame the execution of tasks, processes, and technologies contributing to successful information governance.(2)

Translating Steps into Services

With a focus on maximizing information value while minimizing associated risks and costs, HaystackID Information Governance Solutions (IGS) help organizations in four significant areas. These areas include:

HaystackID addresses these four significant information governance areas through a combination of technologies, processes, and programs that deliver information, insight, and intelligence by accomplishing specific information governance (IG) tasks.(3) These particular IG tasks include:

  • IG Maturity Assessment and Gap Analyses
  • IG Strategies and Roadmaps
  • IG Programs, Policies, and Procedures
  • Enterprise Data Mapping, Identification, Classification, and Inventory
  • Defensible Data Disposition and Data Remediation
  • Cyber Incident Preparedness (Pre and Post Data Breach)
  • Data Supervision and Change Management (Automated)

When grouped as appropriate and delivered as targeted, customizable solutions, these IG
tasks help organizations address key IG challenges in a proven, comprehensive, and
economical manner.(4)

Examples of Information Governance Solutions

Examples of two of the many customizable, targeted solutions include our IG Health Check and our File Analysis/Defensible Disposition Service.

IG Health Check

One example that shares the straightforward, transparent, and comprehensive approach of HaystackID in the delivery of IG services is our IG Health Check.

HaystackID’s IG Health Check Service assesses processes and practices to help organizations understand and comply with legal, regulatory, and standards requirements in managing organizational information.

IG Health Check Services

  • Assessment of IG Program Policies, Procedures, and Compliance
  • Analysis of Findings against Best Practices
  • Development of Implementation Plan and Strategy
IG Health Check Deliverables

  • Fact-finding and Assessment (Interviews/Investigation)
  • Maturity Model Rating (Results/Report)
  • Gap Analysis Risk Assessment (Results/Report)
  • Recommendations, Implementation Plan and Roadmap (Results/Report)
  • Executive Cost/Benefit (Presentation)

Three steps of the IG Health Check Service

1

Planning

  • Statement of Objectives
  • IG Program Current Component/Documentation Identification
  • IG Program Stakeholder Identification
  • Overview of Organization Legal, Technical & Operational Environments
  • Determination of Areas to be Evaluated
  • Determination of Maturity Model Criteria
  • Kick-Off Meeting

2

Assessing

  • Review of all IG Components
  • Review of Lifecycle Management of Records & Information including:
    • Classification & Indexing Approaches
    • Retention & Disposition Procedures
    • Information Storage Processes & Technologies
    • Access & Retrieval Requirements
    • Legal Hold Practices

3

Reporting

  • Analysis of Results
  • Identification of Issues & Gap Analysis
  • Maturity Rating
  • Recommended Solutions & Implementation Strategy
  • Presentation of Results

IG File Analysis and Defensible Disposition Service

Another example of our straightforward, transparent, and comprehensive IG services is our IG File Analysis and Defensible Disposition Service.

HaystackID’s IG File Analysis and Defensible Disposition Service is a technology-enabled solution that provides insight and control over unstructured data by identifying content that has no further value or poses a risk to the organization. This insight and control informs options for reducing risk and lowering costs for storage and backup.

IG File Analysis and
Defensible Disposition Services

  • Metadata Inventory over Defined Set of Data
  • Discovery of Hidden Cost-saving Opportunities and Security and Compliance Risks
  • Disposition of Data to Save Money and Reduce Risk
IG File Analysis and
Defensible Disposition Service Deliverables

  • File Scan Results Based on Predefined Parameters (dates, age, extension, owner, etc.) Provided Graphically for Immediate Identification of Opportunities for Disposition (Results/Report)
  • Analysis and Business Case Recommendations (Results/Report)

Three steps of the IG File Analysis and Defensible Disposition Service

1

Planning

  • Statement of Objectives
  • Unstructured Content Overview
  • Review of Current Retention Policy
  • Scope of File Scan
  • Technical Requirements
  • Identify Stakeholders
  • Kick-Off Meeting

2

Assessing

  • Conduct Scan
  • Analyze Scan Results
  • Define Disposition Categories
  • Collect Cost Statistics
  • Develop Business Case

3

Reporting

  • Develop Graphical Representations of Scan Results
  • Present Business Case and Metrics
  • Executive Presentation

With solutions ranging from IG Health Checks to File Analysis and Defensible Disposition support, we provide the expertise, technology, and experience you need to develop, operationalize, and manage essential information governance tasks. The solutions also enable you to increase the value of information within your organization while reducing data risks and costs.

The HaystackID Functional Area Approach

HaystackID delivers support for the execution of IG tasks and targeted, customizable solutions with a task-centric functional skill focus delivered through a combination of task-centric skills offered as assessment, advisory, supervisory, and management services. These core functional area skills and functional area service types manifest the level of detail that is comprehended in HaystackID’s application of implementational and executional expertise to support the delivery of IG programs, projects, and solutions.

HaystackID Core Functional Area Skills

HaystackID Core Functional Area Service Types

About HaystackID®

HaystackID is a specialized eDiscovery services firm that helps corporations and law firms securely find, understand, and learn from data when facing complex, data-intensive investigations and litigation. HaystackID mobilizes industry-leading cyber discovery services, enterprise solutions, and legal discovery offerings to serve more than 500 of the world’s leading corporations and law firms in North America and Europe. Serving nearly half of the Fortune 100, HaystackID is an alternative cyber and legal services provider that combines expertise and technical excellence with a culture of white-glove customer service. In addition to consistently being ranked by Chambers USA, the company was recently named a worldwide leader in eDiscovery services by IDC MarketScape and a representative vendor in the 2021 Gartner Market Guide for E-Discovery Solutions. Further, HaystackID has achieved SOC 2 Type II attestation in the five trust service areas of security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. For more information about its suite of services, including programs and solutions for unique legal enterprise needs, go to HaystackID.com.


References

(1) Gartner: IT Glossary – Definition of Information Governance (Glossary) – Retrieved on January 24, 2022.

(2) ComplexDiscovery: Automating eDiscovery – A Strategic Framework (Article) – Published March 11, 2019.

(3) HaystackID: Governance, Privacy, and Exposure (Information Paper) – Published September 29, 2021.

(4) ComplexDiscovery: Packaged Services: An Underutilized Approach to Growing Revenue (Article) – Updated August 21, 2021.

Learn More about HaystackID’s Information Governance Solutions

Contact us today to learn more about HaystackID Information Governance Solutions and how the power, precision, and performance of our IG offerings can enhance your legal, information technology, and business operations.

Request a demo or discussion with a HaystackID Information Governance Solutions expert.

Michael

Michael Sarlo

Chief Innovation Officer

IAPP Member

Ashish

Ashish Prasad

Vice President and General Counsel

Adam

Adam Rubinger

Chief Client Experience Officer

Matthew

Matthew Miller

Sr. VP, Information Governance & Data Privacy