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What's an 'Information Governance Plan' and Why Does Your company Need It?

By William Vogeler, Esq. on May 15, 2019

An 'Information Governance Plan' is a three-word solution to a bigger three-word problem: managing discoverable data.

Without a plan, dealing with data discovery can be a nightmare. No, it's worse than that. It's a life-mare because it will take a lifetime to sort out. That's why your company needs an Information Governance Plan.

Any questions? Since you asked, here's a how-to guide for managing discoverable data:

A How-To Guide

Courtesy of Zapproved, you can download a free copy of A How-To Guide for Managing Discoverable Data. Basically, it explains the common components of ediscovery and information governance, such as:

  • data management
  • record retention
  • defensible deletion
  • data security
  • data analysis

More than that, the Information Governance Guide helps businesses account for ediscovery while planning a governance strategy. It should start with a comprehensive data map or completion of a data audit. "In ediscovery, this in-depth data knowledge allows you to quickly and efficiently issue legal holds, locate responsive information, and produce that information on request," the guide says. Without comprehensive data management, you risk the loss of responsive data or retaining data that is otherwise useless.

Defensible Deletion

Data management extends beyond the tech department. It includes cooperation between tech, legal, and executive suites. Everybody needs to be on the same page when it comes to data retention. In general, you can delete information when it has outlived its usefulness. That's defensible deletion. It's not plausible deniability. That's when you deny something that actually exists. There's a big difference, and it can be costly. In ediscovery, excessive record retention is the root cause of rampant spending.

Data that is not subject to a legal hold or compliance requirement can be deleted -- defensibly -- so long as it is done in a consistent way. An Information Governance Plan can help with that and more.

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