Symantec Corp. recently issued the findings of its 2011 Information Retention and eDiscovery Survey, which examined how enterprises manage their ever-growing volumes of electronically stored information (ESI). Interestingly, the survey of legal and IT personnel at 2,000 enterprises worldwide found that email is no longer the primary source of ESI companies produce in response to e-discovery requests and governmental inquiries.

When asked what types of documents were most commonly part of an e-discovery request, respondents selected files/documents (67 percent) and database/application data (61 percent) ahead of email (58 percent). Unlike a decade ago, the survey reveals that email simply does not axiomatically equal e-discovery any longer.

Some may react incredulously to these results, like noted e-discovery expert Ralph Losey, who continues to believe in the paramount importance of email: “In the world of employment litigation it is all about email and attachments and other informal communications,” he says. “That is not to say databases aren't also sometimes important. They can be, especially in class actions. But, the focus of eDiscovery remains squarely on email.”