FTI Consulting has launched a new hosted or on-premise platform for dealing with ediscovery on Microsoft SharePoint data, FTI Harvester.Launched in the US and due to be available in Australia and New Zealand later this year, the software can be deployed behind the firewall with an on-site support team, or managed remotely working with local IT staff. FTI Harvester supports Microsoft SharePoint 2010 as well as earlier Microsoft SharePoint versions.

The company claims this solution will address some of the challenges involved in collecting data from Microsoft SharePoint in response to an e-discovery request, eg:
Keywords: Microsoft SharePoint search capabilities are not conducive to finding data by custodian, so relevant data modified or accessible by the custodian may be missed. In addition, relying on untested keywords can result in incomplete or overly inclusive collection.
Decentralised control: IT may not track the subject matter, data formats or even those with access to information residing within Microsoft SharePoint.
Dynamic environment: With Microsoft SharePoint data constantly changing, the collection process must contend with the addition, deletion and changes to that information, as well as organizational staffing changes. As the information changes, companies may run the risk of having to recollect data multiple times to ensure a thorough collection.
Data formats: Microsoft SharePoint is often used as a storage repository for a vast array of file formats beyond the typical email and Microsoft Office documents most often collected, reviewed and produced for litigation.

FTI Harvester goes beyond basic keyword search to deliver materials authored by, modified by or accessible to targeted custodians. This includes identifying network user names for custodians and identifying all groups for which the custodian is a member. Copies of the selected documents are then exported, with metadata preserved, for further culling and review in e-discovery platforms such as Ringtail Legal.

“Microsoft SharePoint is a dynamic and easy-to-use repository for corporations, but when it comes to e-discovery collection, keywords are not enough,” said Larry Briggi, managing director for FTI Technology.

“FTI Harvester takes a custodian-based approach to preservation and collection so that legal and IT teams have a cost-effective, secure and defensible methodology to e-discovery requests.”