Iron Mountain Planning Investments in E-Discovery

BANGALORE (Reuters) - Iron Mountain Inc (IRM.N), which provides information protection and storage services, is eyeing firms with expertise in electronic discovery as it plans to expand in the fast-growing litigation support services market.

"It is an area we intend to invest very aggressively," Chief Executive Bob Brennan told Reuters in an interview.

E-discovery helps firms gather, restore, search, organize and deliver electronic data for using it as evidence in litigation, internal investigations and regulatory inquiries.

An increasingly litigious society, a growing number of federal, state and industry regulations, and the requirement for more information are the key trends helping e-discovery to grow, Brennan said.

"We believe it will be quite a large market opportunity for us for a long time," said Brennan.

Boston, Massachusetts-based Iron Mountain entered the e-discovery market in 2007 by acquiring privately held Stratify. In 2008, revenue from the unit rose more than 30 percent.