The integration of the eDiscovery and records management functions is gaining acceptance as organizations look to derive true business benefits from addressing the management challenges presented by amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure concerning the discovery of "electronically stored information." This trend is as much a result of the similarity and overlap between the challenges and responsibilities of the departments as it is because there are many efficiencies to be realized by the convergence.

Applying sound records management principles, including those for retention management, throughout an organization can provide many benefits, including:

• Rapid and reliable eDiscovery searches for potentially relevant information from an overall reduction in the amount of data under management
• Decreased costs from less information to review and produce in a discovery event
• Optimized storage costs and backup windows via a reduction in the volume of information to maintain