“Just-in-Time” desktop eDiscovery agent

June 25, 2009:StoredIQ has launched a Desktop Agent Solution for organisations that have geographically distributed sites, a highly mobile workforce, or a large number of employees.

The new product consists of a central management console and network friendly software agents that can be installed only when necessary in order to filter and retrieve responsive data for investigations and electronic discovery projects. The unobtrusive agent operates without disrupting end-users and can automatically remove itself upon completion of data collection.

Collecting email and user files from remote offices or mobile users is problematic due to the combination of low network bandwidth and high latency. The challenges can be further compounded for mobile workers who useVPN connections.

Organizations that use file copying software across an extended network typically over-collect what is necessary, as up to 90% of desktop data is non-responsive to a legal matter. They also face significant difficulties properly preserving all metadata, taking enormous amounts of time to complete data collection activities, and having no automated method to restart the collection process after a network interruption or if a remote user disconnects while a collection is in progress.

The result is that either a member of the IT staff or a consultant needs to be dispatched to a remote office to perform custodian collection, or remote users are forced to ship their laptops into a main office for a few days.

StoredIQ’s Desktop Agent solution is a temporary, just-in-time agent that is easy to install and removes itself when completed, eliminating the need for IT staff to manage or patch.The agent is designed to work across a variety of low bandwidth or high latency networks and through network firewalls to supportVPN connections over ISDN, DSL or cable.

The desktop agent can filter out non-relevant files on the target computer, reducing the amount of data to be collected and expediting the collection effort. Filtering can be performed using keywords, dates, file types,NIST hash list comparisons, or other metadata criteria though the StoredIQ query interface. The list of responsive files is available for verification prior to execution, allowing administrators to incrementally adjust and refine collections criteria as appropriate.

In the event the network connection is lost, such as a user turning off the computer, the status of the agent activity is preserved and resumed later when the target computer

The desktop agent is able to identify and act upon any internal or external storage devices attached to the target computer including CD/DVD, USB orFirewire drives. Non-standard drive configurations for desktops are discovered and can be adjusted accordingly for proper collections.

Desktop agent tasks can be paused by the administrator and later resumed or cancelled, allowing tasks to be dynamically prioritized.

Dedicated desktop agent connections can be assigned to key custodians and executives who require priority in responding to collection requests.

The desktop agent supports massively parallel collection activity across multiple computers, improving collection efficiency.

Collected data can be stored to a target volume where StoredIQ can manage multiple litigation hold policies and deduplicate data collected across different desktops and different matters.

"IT organizations are highly reluctant to add new permanent software agents to their standard desktop configurations due to the increased effort and cost to manage them," said KeithZoellner, Chief Technology Officer at StoredIQ. He adds, “StoredIQ’s temporary agent is designed for just-in-time deployment and self-removal upon completion of assigned tasks.”

StoredIQ provides search and analysis, enabling investigators to analyze and target data that is potentially responsive to litigation or investigations across the organization, regardless of where it is physically located. StoredIQ’s Desktop Agent Solution will be available in Q3, 2009.