Market disruption comes in all shapes and sizes, though the majority stem from a competitor comparing apples-to-oranges when talking about price.  This “disruption” does shake up the market but only until the next round of competitive pricing wars.

These are the kinds of disruptions Harvard Business Professor Clay Christian terms “low-end disruptions.”  They create ripples but don’t revolutionize industries. What creates change isn’t a low-cost alternative or a single product, but a process.  A truly disruptive business model isn’t one that tries to meet everyone’s needs at a minimal level.   Actual disruption involves recognizing the needs of an elite group of clients and serving them better than anyone else can.  It works in property, mountain biking, and software solutions.  It can work in any industry but takes commitment to focus on client needs and long-term change rather than quick attempts to spike market share.

Examining the world of eDiscovery, we have seen technology alter the landscape from expensive fixed, unrecoverable administrative costs to more on-demand, variable costs depending on the matter’s data volume.  Of course, there’s also companies that adopt the emerging technology and allow firms to skirt by with the basics yet not adequately providing the expert service many clients need.  For some, that’s enough.

What isn’t possible with the legacy or minimal functioning legal technology is innovation. Getting the bare minimum eDiscovery software doesn’t provide a firm access to strategy and experience. It doesn’t let a law firm use cutting-edge algorithms and natural language processing to find connections between documents at speeds no one else can touch. Tools are simply mechanisms to assist with completing a job; however, many times it’s the combination of software and an experienced team to keep a task under budget, delivered on-time, and minimize risk.

Originally posted on cicayda.com