Business challenge

ProSearch Strategies Inc.’s team of data scientists and linguists used a number of search and machine learning tools, but they knew there was more they could do to solve their customers’ business needs.


ProSearch engaged The Dayhuff Group to deploy the IBM Watson Explorer cognitive platform to analyze documents and conversation data, helping speed the e-discovery process.


Speeds up analyses and reveals insights

using advanced text annotators and natural language processing (NLP) features

Boosts profitably and productivity

by eliminating manual tasks and finding key intelligence faster

Creates new business opportunities

by providing a unique service to the market

Business challenge story

Seeking clues and faster analyses

E-discovery, the process of collecting, processing and searching electronic data for evidence to use in legal cases, can be the epitome of trying to find a needle in a haystack. Not only is the volume of big data growing at staggering rates, but so is the variety of that data, making it increasingly difficult for search teams to identify potential evidence. Today, simply finding the pertinent information isn’t enough; it is imperative to discover it quickly and cost-effectively.

Such is the business environment for ProSearch, a client of The Dayhuff Group, an IBM Business Partner specializing in AI-driven enterprise content management (ECM) solutions. Lauren Maddern, the Business Partner’s Innovation and Collaboration Manager, elaborates on her client’s challenges: “ProSearch is retained by large corporations that send them massive email collections, sometimes in the 10[million] – 100 million plus range. It’s ProSearch’s job to help attorneys and other experts pore through all of that data to find specific evidence that the customer needs, such as how many times did one contact talk to another during a specific time interval.”

She continues: “They used a number of technologies, but there were still many manual tasks. It was taking too long to find the hidden gems of information. So they went looking for a way to do it better and faster.”

With Watson, ProSearch is faster, more productive and able to bring something unique to the market.

Lauren Maddern, Innovation and Collaboration Manager, The Dayhuff Group

Transformation story

Finding evidence intelligently

When The Dayhuff Group demonstrated the IBM Watson Explorer platform in late 2016, ProSearch saw its potential immediately.

“One of their clients had recently challenged them with finding evidence related to individuals engaged in bribing international government agencies and private company executives. They decided that they would use Watson Explorer for that,” explains Maddern.

With its NLP and machine learning capabilities, the cognitive platform understands, reasons and learns from the legal terminology and data on which ProSearch trains it. It analyzes and correlates both structured and unstructured data, including spreadsheets, emails and chat data to provide context, trends and relationships hidden in the data.

Results story

Speeding e-discovery processes

Watson Explorer technology not only provides ProSearch with new insights into its customers’ data, but also new business opportunities.

“The curated, legal terms that attorneys develop are an important starting point,” explains Maddern. “But most of the time, if I’m bribing someone, I’m not going to say ‘there’s a Rolex in your mailbox.’ I’m going to use language that’s more ambiguous. ProSearch has a team of linguists that wanted to test whether the syntactic structure of language itself could identify instances of these “giving events.” By using Watson’s advanced text annotators, the team made an effort to find the subtle, hidden bits of data that are indicative of improper gift giving and offer their clients additional intelligence. This is really exciting for their team.”

Maddern concludes, “With Watson, ProSearch is faster, more productive and able to bring something unique to the market.”

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About ProSearch Strategies Inc.

Based in Los Angeles, California, ProSearch is a technology services provider that offers legal document investigatory and eDiscovery services for corporations and law firms. Using the most advanced tools and technologies, the company’s team of consultants, attorneys, data scientists, linguists and project managers develop customized data processing solutions to help customers with their business, compliance, due diligence and legal needs. ProSearch was founded in 2005.

About The Dayhuff Group

Founded in 1997 and based in Worthington, Ohio, The Dayhuff Group guides organizations in collecting, managing and evangelizing data. Its deep expertise spans multiple industries, including insurance, financial, quick service restaurants, manufacturing, distribution, government, pharmaceutical and many others, enabling the company to deliver solutions in a timely and cost-effective manner. The Dayhuff Group is a leading provider of cognitive solutions using IBM Watson technologies, including Watson Explorer, Watson API and Watson Analytics offerings, helping customers drive new value from existing investments. With more than 20 years’ experience as an IBM Premier Business Partner, the company specializes in enterprise content management, business intelligence, cybersecurity and Watson AI technologies. Its award-winning solutions take advantage of the latest in technologies to uncover new insights for customers.

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