Legal searches let firms down

Nearly half of businesses in a European survey say IT systems have failed to find and deliver vital paperwork

By the book: Speed of access can decide the fate of legal disputes, say the majority of firms.

IT departments are failing to produce documentation fast enough when it is needed to settle legal disputes, an independent report commissioned by archiving vendor CommVault has revealed.

The Corporate Hide & Seek survey of 300 firms across the UK, Netherlands and Germany, found that 71 per cent think speed of access to documents is a deciding factor when there are legal issues at stake.

However, the survey, conducted by Dynamic Markets, also revealed that 47 per cent of large organisations claim to have suffered from IT systems failing to find and deliver documents, files and emails.

Fiona Moon, marketing director for EMEA at CommVault, said: “Companies have masses of data and retention rules change all the time. CommVault will support its channel in how it creates solutions for their customers’ needs.”

Despite 80 per cent of organisations claiming to have made an investment in IT to address search and retrieval challenges, 60 per cent still think their IT department is not always able to deliver information quickly enough.

Jon Collins, service director at analyst FreeForm Dynamics, said: “Businesses proactively want to address this, so for resellers it is like pushing on an open door.”