eDiscovery Standard vs Premium in Microsoft SharePoint Purview: A Detailed Comparison

In the realm of data governance and compliance, Microsoft’s SharePoint Purview is an essential tool for organizations to manage and protect their data. It plays a key role in enabling eDiscovery, which is the process of identifying, preserving, collecting, reviewing, and producing electronically stored information. SharePoint Purview offers two primary eDiscovery options: eDiscovery Standard and eDiscovery Premium. Both options provide essential capabilities for managing eDiscovery tasks, but they differ significantly in terms of features, functionality, and scalability.

What is Microsoft SharePoint Purview?

Microsoft SharePoint Purview is a comprehensive platform that helps organizations manage, secure, and govern their data across Microsoft 365 applications, including SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, and Exchange. Purview provides an array of compliance and data governance tools, including eDiscovery capabilities, which are vital for responding to legal requests and regulatory inquiries.

eDiscovery in SharePoint Purview helps organizations search for and identify relevant data across their Microsoft 365 environment, preserving and exporting it for review and legal analysis. Purview offers both eDiscovery Standard and eDiscovery Premium, each tailored to different levels of need and complexity.

eDiscovery Standard in SharePoint Purview

eDiscovery Standard is designed for organizations that require basic eDiscovery capabilities without the need for advanced features or customization. It offers a simple, straightforward solution for managing eDiscovery tasks and is typically suited for smaller-scale legal matters or organizations with less complex compliance needs.

Key Features of eDiscovery Standard:

1. Basic Data Search and Identification: eDiscovery Standard provides users with the ability to search for and identify relevant data across Microsoft 365 services, including SharePoint, Exchange, and Teams. This includes simple keyword searches and filters to locate the necessary electronic data.

2. Legal Hold: Organizations can apply legal holds to prevent the deletion or modification of relevant data during the eDiscovery process. This feature ensures that data remains intact for review and production.

3. Exporting Data: Users can export the data identified during eDiscovery searches into standard file formats. This is a basic export function, which can be used for further review and analysis outside of Microsoft 365.

4. User Interface: eDiscovery Standard in Purview provides an intuitive, user-friendly interface with easy-to-follow workflows for performing search and legal hold actions. This simplicity is an advantage for organizations that do not need complex configurations.

5. Limited Customization: The customization options in eDiscovery Standard are minimal, and organizations have limited flexibility in tailoring the eDiscovery process to their specific needs.

Best Suited For:

eDiscovery Standard is ideal for small to mid-sized organizations or those with less complex legal and compliance requirements. It’s particularly useful for businesses that need a basic eDiscovery solution to manage routine legal matters without the need for extensive customization or advanced features.

eDiscovery Premium in SharePoint Purview

eDiscovery Premium, as the name suggests, is an enhanced version of the eDiscovery toolset in SharePoint Purview. It offers more advanced features, better scalability, and deeper functionality, making it suitable for larger organizations or more complex legal and compliance needs.

Key Features of eDiscovery Premium:

1. Advanced Search and Filtering: eDiscovery Premium allows for more advanced search options, including keyword proximity searching, filtering by metadata, and the ability to search across multiple sources within Microsoft 365 (SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, etc.). It supports complex queries that can be refined and customized to suit specific litigation or investigation requirements.

2. Machine Learning and Analytics: One of the standout features of eDiscovery Premium is its use of machine learning and analytics. These tools can help identify patterns, categorize documents, and prioritize key evidence for review. AI-driven insights can drastically reduce the time and resources needed for manual document review.

3. Advanced Legal Hold: eDiscovery Premium provides more granular control over legal holds. Users can apply holds at a more detailed level (e.g., specific content locations or individuals), and it supports multiple, ongoing holds across different legal cases, which is essential for organizations with ongoing or high-volume legal matters.

4. Customizable Review Sets: With eDiscovery Premium, users can create customizable review sets, allowing them to prioritize certain documents for legal review. This enables a more efficient review process, especially in large-scale eDiscovery cases.

5. Audit and Reporting: eDiscovery Premium includes advanced reporting and auditing capabilities. Organizations can generate detailed reports on the eDiscovery process, including searches, holds, and data exports. This feature is crucial for organizations that need to demonstrate compliance or provide transparency in the legal process.

6. Compliance Integration: eDiscovery Premium integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft compliance tools, such as compliance manager, insider risk management, and communication compliance. This integration enhances the overall security and compliance posture of an organization while managing eDiscovery matters.

7. Scalability: eDiscovery Premium is built for scalability, supporting large volumes of data and multiple cases. This makes it ideal for large enterprises, law firms, or any organization handling complex or multi-jurisdictional eDiscovery matters.

Best Suited For:

eDiscovery Premium is best suited for large organizations, law firms, or enterprises dealing with complex litigation or regulatory matters. It is ideal for cases involving large datasets, sensitive data, or multi-party legal holds. The advanced features and scalability make it a top choice for organizations with sophisticated eDiscovery needs.

Key Differences Between eDiscovery Standard and eDiscovery Premium in SharePoint Purview

Feature	eDiscovery Standard	eDiscovery Premium
Search and Filtering	Basic search capabilities	Advanced search with custom filters and metadata
Legal Hold	Basic legal hold functionality	Advanced legal hold with granular controls
Data Export	Simple export options	Customizable export with more formats
Analytics and Machine Learning	Not available	AI-driven insights and analytics
Customization	Limited customization	Highly customizable workflows and review sets
Scalability	Suitable for small to mid-sized cases	Ideal for large-scale or complex litigation
Compliance Integration	Limited integration	Full integration with Microsoft compliance tools
Reporting and Auditing	Basic reports	Advanced audit trails and reporting capabilities

In Microsoft SharePoint Purview, the choice between eDiscovery Standard and eDiscovery Premium ultimately depends on the complexity of your organization's legal, compliance, and data governance needs. eDiscovery Standard offers a straightforward, cost-effective solution for smaller-scale or less complex cases, while eDiscovery Premium provides a more robust set of tools, including advanced analytics, deeper customization, and enhanced scalability, making it ideal for large organizations or complex, high-volume eDiscovery matters.

Understanding these differences allows organizations to choose the right eDiscovery solution to meet their specific requirements, ensuring they can manage, protect, and govern their data effectively in response to legal or regulatory obligations.