I thought I'd take a moment to link you to an excellent assessment of the e-discovery universe from the August issue of the ABA Journal Magazine. I predicted (although not on this blog) that the proliferation of firms that were more interested in incorporating the term "e-discovery" into their business model as opposed to actually understanding client needs (ergo, my "toothbrush" post) would eventually result in these firms cannibalizing each other. Toss in a nasty economic downturn and that seems to have accelerated the issue.
A frustrated potential client said it best the other day. "I called you because I want a true consultant, and these firms promise this, then they start trying to sell me software!"
(It's obvious from the top-left sidebar of this blog that I work with software companies as well, but I only recommend software if my client asks me to do so).
Sometimes a litigation readiness program is just a litigation readiness program…
As one who puts themselves into the “true” consultant category, I have to agree with both your post and the objective in the linked article. As a firm that provides a solution that requires controls, process and awareness (and no software sales) for overall IT Compliance, we often find ourselves standing in line with “vendors” who represent a micro view (ie: software only) to the client. I am glad to see the consolidation and upsweep of some of these companies with other more diverse houses to begin to provide a truer solution to the client. This may result in tougher competition for those of us who provide services only, but may play out to a fairer game in the long run.
Sally:
I only have one question. If I agree with your post agreeing with my post, do we create some sort of causality loop a la Star Trek?