Will E-discovery Software Replace Humans

By Author: Cathy Hiycks
Total Articles: 6
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People need e-discovery when they have to retrieve lost or deleted electronic data. The jobs that would have to use this software are law enforcement agencies, private people who would pay someone to recover their data, a law firm who has a data forensic department, or someone working for a recovery company who prepares data reports for litigation. While our tech world continually advances we will need more ways to retrieve data for people thus needing more humans that can run this software and keep up with the technology changes. Some think computers and software will take more jobs away, but I see it as just creating different jobs that humans need to learn and still be a part of. While computers are faster and usually more precise than a human you always need a human to accompany those computers and software. Humans will be needed with e-discovery software even though it searches and finds data faster. The humans will be needed not only to run the software,but to also fix and find the problems possibly to arise when using it. There are times this software will run by itself, but that's after a human has started it and told ...
... it where to look for what it needs to find. Also, humans will then have to prepare the reports of the found or not found data after the software completes it's searching jobs that they will have to show their clients. While the software will find the data it cannot compile it together to show what you found or didn't find. Each client has a different need for how their reports need to be presented also which takes a human touch. So I would say that when jobs seem to be taken over by computers and software they usually create new jobs that have to do with the new technology maintenance and advancements. Computers or machines can only do a certain amount without the help of humans. When using e-discovery software it really depends on what reason you are using the program as to which kind you will buy. There are not only e-discovery software, but also some e-discovery types of actual machines you can use when you are needing to recover data while out of the office. These portable machines and software can also be useful if you have personal needs of recovering data at your own home or family and friends you could help. Because technology is changing so rapidly so is the software and recovery devices that are needed to work on the different electronic devices. Now you not only have desktop computers, but you also have netbooks, laptops, cell phones, iphones, ipads, different brands of tablets, all kinds of cameras and memory cards. All of these devices need slightly different hardware when hooking them up to an e-discovery machine or using an e-discovery software program. As these devices themselves advance with more memory, more applications, more abilities the e-discovery processes and software also has to advance in it's capabilities. Again, the advancements I see in technology seem to be creating new jobs for humans more than just taking the jobs we already have. Being a data forensic expert myself I can tell you that the job is not only interesting, but very rewarding. I looked at my job as a way to help people either getting the justice they deserved or grabbing the lost data that they desperately seek. For instance, I once recovered information from a cell phone for a company that had a lawsuit pending regarding the termination of someone's employment. This person tried to destroy the charging mechanism on their company cell phone thinking this would protect him stopping the company from finding the incriminating evidence. I was able to wire the e-discovery device that had the recovery software on it into the cell phone in a way that my boss had not ever even thought of or done before. It was a very satisfying and wonderful feeling knowing that I had been able to help this company prove they had legal rights to terminate the employee who was suing them for wrongful termination. I also had a very exciting more personal experience using e-discovery software on the job. My brother had a memory card that showed all data to be erased, but he swore he couldn't remember anyone erasing it. He thought there were about 600 pictures of his first child's first first 6 months with family and friends that were obviously irreplaceable. So I was able to ask my boss if I could take on this project and see if I could get the e-discovery software to find these pictures for my brother. I wanted to show not only my family and my boss that I could use this software for any problem that arises. Everyone thought that this was impossible because it showed as being erased and no data on the memory card. I worked with the e-discovery software and recovered not only the 600 pictures he figured were lost for good, but also found actually around 900 that were still on the memory card. I had impressed my family and my boss all because I knew how to use and run the e-discovery software. This should prove to you how e-discovery software is very useful in many ways with all of our digital data we now have. If you start to think that computers and their software is greedily taking over remember that it is good for us in that we get new jobs when they are being used. By my experience and these reasons in this article you can definitely understand why both computers and people are necessary for them both to be useful.To learn more about e-discovery software, click here