Bringing Risk Into Focus: Streamlining Litigation Holds at Global Scale

The Situation

 

Managing Risk and Storage Costs for Nearly 200,000 Mailboxes

 

A global enterprise faced mounting operational and compliance risk from years of accumulated litigation holds across its cloud-based, messaging environment. Many holds were no longer legally required, yet they continued to drive unnecessary data retention, storage growth and eDiscovery exposure.


With nearly 200,000 mailboxes in scope and multiple global stakeholders involved, the organization needed a precise, defensible approach to identify exclusions, remove holds safely and validate results without disrupting ongoing operations or introducing new risk.

 

 

The Solution

 

Strategic Litigation Hold Removal Reduces Risk 

 

Optiv partnered closely with the client to execute a large-scale, phased litigation hold removal initiative grounded in defensible data governance practices. Optiv evaluated the full mailbox inventory, aligned actions to an agreed “keep on hold” list and used scripted automation and validation to safely remove unnecessary holds.


The engagement emphasized accuracy, transparency and quality execution, resulting in significant risk reduction and strong client confidence in both the process and outcome. The client stated, “It was very easy working with [Optiv’s consultant] and could not have been completed without the knowledge you brought to the table and the work you did.”

 

 

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Industry Served:

Eyewear


Challenges

 

  • Excessive and outdated litigation holds across a massive messaging environment
     
  • High operational complexity and risk associated with identifying valid exclusions and safely removing holds from tens of thousands of mailboxes

Optiv’s Actions

 

  • Assessed and validated the full litigation hold mailbox inventory
     
  • Executed phased, scripted litigation hold removal to minimize disruption
     
  • Performed re-runs and exception handling for edge cases and conflicts
     
  • Conducted final validation with detailed reporting and documentation

Client’s Success

 

  • Litigation holds removed from over 71,000 mailboxes no longer requiring preservation
     
  • Reduced long-term storage consumption and over-retention risk
     
  • Lowered legal and eDiscovery exposure through defensible disposition
     
  • Improved mailbox lifecycle management and 
    operational efficiency

Next Steps

 

  • Expand litigation hold rationalization using an agreed “keep on hold” list
     
  • Automate ongoing hold governance with scripted controls and reporting
     
  • Schedule periodic validation re-runs and exception handling for edge cases
     
  • Extend mailbox lifecycle management to reduce over-retention and eDiscovery exposure

How can we help you secure greatness?

 

Optiv can advise on, deploy and operate end-to-end cybersecurity programs aligned to your business goals. As the cyber advisory and solutions leader, we serve nearly 6,000 companies across every major industry. Our certified experts can help you gain the agility, security, scale and control you need to stay ahead of the competition.