It’s time for the Fall 2024 eDiscovery Business Confidence Survey, published (as always) on Rob Robinson’s terrific ComplexDiscovery site. Where does the confidence of individuals working in the eDiscovery ecosystem stand when compared to previous surveys? Let’s see.
As always, Rob provides a complete breakdown of the latest survey results, which you can check out here. I’ve covered every quarterly survey since its inception, which just concluded its ninth(!) year!
While I’m continuing to look at all surveys conducted to look at trends over time, I’m displaying a rolling three years’ data for clarity as the entire history of more than eight years makes for a very crowded graph.
Last fall, Rob added new questions regarding the use of large language models and generative AI, so this is the fifth survey with those questions. I’m reporting on the results of one of those questions this time (in case you missed Rob’s coverage) and dropping trends coverage for the level of support question that I’ve covered over the years. Starting next year, I’ll begin to report on trends over time for those.
The Fall 2024 eDiscovery Business Confidence Survey response period was between November 12 to December 6, 2024. This quarter’s survey saw 61 eDiscovery professionals sharing their opinions on the business of eDiscovery. So, let’s get into it!
Provider Heavy Survey: Software and/or Services Provider respondents were the sole leading group for the sixth quarter in a row with 50.8% (a record and the first time ever any group has comprised more than half of the respondents!). Law Firm respondents were second at 21.3% (8.9% below the lifetime average of 30.2%) with Corporation respondents a surprising third at 9.8%, 1.6% higher than the lifetime average of 8.2%. Consultancy at 8.2% (8.0% below the 16.2% lifetime average and the lowest percentage since Fall 2022). If you count law firms as providers (they’re technically both providers and consumers), providers account for 80.3% of total respondents (0.3% higher than last quarter). Here’s a graphical representation of the trend over the last twelve surveys:
So, how confident is a provider dominated group of respondents in eDiscovery business confidence in the Fall 2024 eDiscovery Business Confidence Survey? See below.
Current Business is Good, But…: Respondents that considered business to be good slipped a bit to 54.1% (1.1% above the lifetime average). Another 39.3% of respondents consider business to be normal (slightly above above the lifetime average of 38.7%). 6.6% of respondents rated business conditions as bad (1.7% below the lifetime average of 8.3%). Here is the trend over the last twelve surveys:
So, do respondents in the Fall 2024 eDiscovery Business Confidence Survey expect business to rise in six months? See below.
eDiscovery Be Expensive!: 96.7% of respondents expect business conditions will be in their segment to be the same or better six months from now (up 1.7% from last quarter’s 95%, with over half – 52.46% – of respondents expecting it to be better. 57.4% expect revenues to be up (a rise from last quarter’s 53.3%) while 39.3% expect it to be the same (leaving only 3.3% expecting lower revenues). As for profits, respondents expecting higher profits plunged 15.7% from last quarter to 39.3% (which is 0.7% lower than the lifetime average of 40.0%), while 54.1% expected flat profits and 6.6% expected lower profits (which is 5.5% lower than the average). Here is the profits trend over the last twelve surveys:
Will we head higher or lower from here? We’ll see.
Data, Data, Data!: Increasing Types of Data rose back to its recent customary top spot with 24.6%, 3.4% above the lifetime average of 21.2% and the ninth time in twelve quarters at the top spot. Increasing Volumes of Data rose to second with 21.3% (1.0% higher than the lifetime average). Budgetary Constraints fell to third with 19.7%, 6.1% lower than its lifetime average of 25.5%. Lack of Personnel was fourth at 14.8% (1.5% above the lifetime average of 13.3) tied for last at 6.7%. Data Security was fifth at 11.5% (0.7% below the lifetime average of 12.2%). And Inadequate Technology was last at 8.2% (but still 0.9% higher than the lifetime average of 7.3%. The graph below illustrates the distribution over the last twelve surveys:
Do these numbers imply that providers are data-obsessed? We’ll see.
Delivery Drops in the Fifth Results on LLM/GAI Benefits: Regarding the question “which do you perceive as the primary benefit of integrating LLMs and GAI into your organization’s operations or offerings?”, Improved Service/Product Delivery was again the top choice at 44.26%, which dipped about 2.5 points from last quarter’s 46.67%, followed by Competitive Advantage at 26.23%, higher than last quarter’s 25.0%, then Cost Savings at 14.75%, about 2% lower than last quarter’s 16.67%. Enhanced Decision Making at 9.84% rose a whopping 8.16% from last quarter’s 1.67%, with only 4.92% seeing No Perceived Benefit, about 1.6% higher than last quarter. Looks like Risk Mitigation was dropped out of this question altogether!
Looks like the Fall 2024 eDiscovery Business Confidence Survey shows respondents continuing to be optimistic, while struggling to keep profitability high. What will happen next quarter? Check back here!
Again, Rob has published the results for the Fall 2024 eDiscovery Business Confidence Survey on his site here, which shows responses to additional questions not referenced here. Check them out.
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So, what do you think? Are you optimistic about eDiscovery business? Please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.
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Disclaimer: The views represented herein are exclusively the views of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views held by my employer, my partners or my clients. eDiscovery Today is made available solely for educational purposes to provide general information about general eDiscovery principles and not to provide specific legal advice applicable to any particular circumstance. eDiscovery Today should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a lawyer you have retained and who has agreed to represent you.