An actuary is defined as "an adviser on financial questions involving probabilities relating to mortality and other contingencies." So, do you know the old joke about actuaries? No, not the one about how they are accountants who found accountancy too exciting. I mean the one that defines actuaries as the guys who come down from the hills after the battle to kill the wounded to make them easier to classify Don't laugh: If you are going to protect your organization, you are destined to become actuaries. What got me thinking about this is the issue of electronic discovery (also called,rather irritatingly,e-discovery).Much has been written about this topic over the last few years, and many acres of crushed dead trees have been smeared with ink on the subject. Before I launch into my main thrust, let's just look at what e-discovery is. Let's say you are a midsize or larger corporation (as you probably are, given you're reading Network World), and someone decides to sue you (which, given the way the world is today, is a question of when, not ifJ.The claimant contends that whatever it is you are supposed to have done is documented in your corporate data - in your e-mail and files. They can demand you turn over your data as part of the process of finding evidence - the discovery phase - and should you fail to do so in a timely fashion.you will face potentially serious fines.
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