The year 2015 has come to an end, and cloud-based computing has entered the mainstream. One marketplace that is likely to see cloud-based computing become more fully enmeshed is the e-discovery marketplace.

“Cloud computing” is a generic term for Internet-based computing services, and is increasingly used to refer to a wide array of different services. Whatever the service, however, there is one basic difference between traditional computing and cloud-based computing. When you access a cloud for your computing needs, your desktop or your laptop isn’t the device doing the actual computing. Even though you continue to see the results of your efforts on your own screen, all the computing actually takes place elsewhere, usually in a data center that is both physically and legally outside your organization.

Put another way, “cloud computing” usually refers to a cloud alternative to some computer-based task that organizations traditionally manage in-house. For example, rather than a law firm hosting its e-mail on an internal server, email can be hosted in the cloud, removing the cost of maintaining and upgrading the server, and the attendant personnel who carry out those tasks.

To read the full article, go to Bloomberg Law.