The reason eDMSP’s can do this so much more cost-effectively than in-house teams is because They cost-share skillsets among multiple clients. Let’s take, for example, one very important skillset I’ve listed above—Data Architect Specialist. This professional plays the following roles:
- Analyze inflows and outflows of data sets within the eDiscovery environment.
- Identify bottlenecks that can cause slowdowns or outages.
- Architect solutions that reduce downtime and prevent outages.
- Train system users in how to use the processes and tools they’ve integrated into the environment.
- Always be available to help with any problems that may arise.
- You can check back every six months to see how things are going, and to find more ways to improve speed and performance.
- One year later, you can start the cycle over again.
As you can see this skill set could be very valuable for optimizing performance. But here’s the thing. This level of touch is not necessary for most eDiscovery environments. It is usually only needed a few times per year.. It is essential that you have it. But what happens if you don’t have it? What happens to a data architect who gets bored because they don’t have interesting problems to work on? They move on. I’ve seen it time and time again.
However, eDMSPs can keep these professionals engaged, motivated, moving up in their careers, and constantly challenged by new issues that need to fixed. For example, an FTE at a law firm would only be required to work a few weeks per year. As an FTE for an electronic medical support program, they can work all year and never be bored. But the best part is that salary costs, which let’s say are $200,000 per year, get shared across a multitude of clients. A part-time employee is not required by every organization to be paid $200,000. This is why, at the end of the day, eDMSP’s can give you better outcomes for less money.