How to Achieve a Connected Workflow of Internal Investigations

How to Achieve a Connected Workflow of Internal Investigations

Internal investigations no longer live in one system. A single matter can span email, chat platforms, HR records, financial systems, and shared drives, and investigators are expected to move faster across all of it than ever before. EY's analysis of AI in internal corporate investigations found that the average case now involves more than 6.5 million pages of documents, with large-scale matters reaching as many as 70 million, while median case closure times have risen 33% year over year even as the number of reports per employee keeps climbing. Fragmentation is not a minor inconvenience anymore. It is the primary reason investigations slow down.

Internal investigations in a connected workflow means every stage, from identifying custodians to collecting data to reviewing findings, operates through a single, integrated process rather than a series of disconnected tools and manual handoffs. Organizations that achieve this reduce the time, cost, and risk associated with investigations that would otherwise require piecing together evidence from a dozen separate systems.

Why Internal Investigations Break Down Without a Connected Workflow

Regulatory expectations for internal investigations continue to tighten. A&O Shearman's review of cross-border white collar crime and investigations trends notes that expectations around transparency, independence, and robustness in internal investigations have grown steadily, with privilege and data privacy questions recurring across multiple jurisdictions. Investigation teams facing that level of scrutiny cannot afford a process where custodian data lives in one platform, review happens in another, and no single system tracks the connections between them.

The scale of the underlying data compounds the problem. IDC's data volume forecasts point to well over 150 zettabytes of data generated globally each year, a volume that keeps expanding across the exact collaboration platforms, chat tools, and cloud systems where investigation-relevant evidence increasingly lives. Without a connected workflow, that growth translates directly into longer timelines and more opportunities for gaps in the record.

The Core Components of a Connected Investigation Workflow

Custodian Management Across Multiple Apps

Identifying who holds relevant data, and where, is the foundation of any investigation. Onna's guide to custodian management in multi-app environments covers how legal teams can standardize this process instead of tracking custodians manually across spreadsheets and email threads, which introduces exactly the kind of inconsistency that slows investigations down.

Centralized Data Collection

Once custodians are identified, data collection for internal investigations needs to happen through a single interface rather than separate exports from each platform. A centralized approach preserves metadata, maintains chain of custody, and gives investigators one place to search across every connected source instead of reconciling exports after the fact.

Unified Review and Analysis

Collected data still needs a consistent path into review. Onna and Reveal connect collaboration data collection directly into Reveal's review and analytics environment, while Onna and Logikcull offers a more self-service path for teams that need a faster, simpler review workflow. Both models keep custodian data, collection records, and review findings connected rather than requiring a manual transfer between systems.

Building a Connected Workflow Step by Step

1. Inventory every platform where investigation-relevant data could live, including collaboration tools, email, HR systems, and AI features embedded in existing SaaS platforms.

2. Standardize custodian identification so every investigation follows the same process for confirming who holds relevant data and where it resides.

3. Centralize collection through a platform that connects directly to each data source rather than relying on manual export.

4. Integrate collection with review, so findings can be traced back to the original custodian and source without a separate reconciliation step.

5. Maintain a documented audit trail across the entire process, from custodian identification through final review, to support defensibility if the investigation is later challenged.

What a Connected Workflow Looks Like in Practice

When these pieces work together, an investigation that once required separate teams handling custodian tracking, data export, and review as isolated tasks instead runs as a single process with shared visibility at every stage. That shift shows up directly in outcomes: faster identification of relevant custodians, fewer gaps in collected data, and a clearer record to support findings if the investigation faces later scrutiny.

Getting to that point requires treating the workflow itself, not just the individual tools, as the thing worth building deliberately.

If your organization is looking to connect custodian management, data collection, and review into a single internal investigations workflow, Onna's team can walk through what that looks like for your environment. You can also see the platform in action by requesting a demo.