Digital Forensics & eDiscovery Software Development

eDiscovery and forensics software built around your case workflow, not a per-GB platform

Chain of custody is only as strong as its weakest handoff, and eDiscovery hosting costs scale with data volume in ways a commercial platform's pricing model doesn't make easy to control. Most firms end up choosing between an expensive general-purpose platform or a spreadsheet held together by discipline. We build forensic evidence collection, chain-of-custody tracking, litigation hold management, and document review software around your actual case workflow and data sources.

  • Forensic evidence collection and chain-of-custody tracking built for admissibility

  • Litigation hold and multi-custodian data collection across email, chat, and cloud storage

  • Document review workflows scoped to your case volume, not a per-GB hosting model

  • Fixed-cost delivery, scoped up front, with source code ownership

Recent outcomes

Voice AI · Research

6× deeper insights

Text-based interviews converted to automated phone calls

AI Automation · Ops

20k+ txns day one

Manual invoice OCR across 40+ gas stations

Loyalty · Retail

1,062 users in 4 weeks

SuperValu & Centra loyalty platform with receipt validation

SaaS · Logistics

2,000+ shipments yr 1

Multi-carrier shipping hub for Indonesian eCommerce

4.9
on Clutch
See our work

The problem

Sound familiar?

  • Forensic evidence handoffs tracked in a spreadsheet instead of an auditable chain-of-custody log a court will actually accept?

  • eDiscovery hosting costs climbing every time a case's data volume grows, with no way to control it?

Short answer

Digital forensics and eDiscovery software development covers forensic evidence collection and imaging, chain-of-custody tracking with cryptographic hash verification, litigation hold management, multi-custodian data collection across email/chat/cloud platforms, and document review workflows. RaftLabs builds this for law firms, corporate legal teams, and forensic examiners whose case volume or data types don't fit a commercial per-GB hosting platform well. A single-purpose evidence collection or chain-of-custody tool typically runs $35K-$70K over 12-18 weeks; a full review platform with litigation hold and multi-custodian collection runs $90K-$160K over 18-28 weeks, at a fixed cost.

Key takeaways

  • Chain-of-custody software needs cryptographic hash verification at collection and every subsequent access, not just a timestamped log entry, to hold up under scrutiny.
  • eDiscovery hosting costs on commercial platforms scale with data volume, which has grown steadily as custodians generate more email, chat, and cloud files - custom software decouples cost from volume alone.
  • Custodian data collection typically spans email, chat platforms, and cloud storage, each with its own metadata-preservation requirements - collection tooling needs to be built around the platforms your custodians actually use.
  • A full platform with litigation hold management, multi-custodian collection, and document review typically takes 18-28 weeks at a fixed, agreed cost.

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Digital forensics and eDiscovery software delivery, by the numbers

products shipped
100+
cost delivery
Fixed
week delivery cycles
12-28

Evidence software should scale with your workflow, not your data volume

Commercial eDiscovery platforms price by the gigabyte, and case data volume has grown steadily as custodians generate more email, chat messages, and cloud files. A case that looked affordable at intake can become a budget problem by the time collection is complete. Software built around your actual case workflow - not a general-purpose per-GB platform - gives you cost control tied to how you work, not to data volume alone.

Capabilities

What we build

  • 01
    Forensic evidence collection and imaging

    Forensic imaging and evidence collection tooling with cryptographic hash verification at capture, built around the device and data types your investigations actually involve.

  • 02
    Chain-of-custody tracking

    Structured, timestamped audit logs of every access, transfer, and handoff of digital evidence, with tamper-evident storage and hash verification at each step.

  • 03
    eDiscovery review platforms

    Document review workflows - search, tagging, privilege review, redaction, and production - scoped to your case volume rather than a commercial platform's per-GB pricing.

  • 04
    Litigation hold management

    Custodian identification, hold notice tracking, and preservation confirmation with escalation, so hold compliance is visible and auditable.

  • 05
    Multi-custodian data collection

    Collection integrations across email, chat platforms, and cloud storage, preserving the metadata required for authentication.

  • 06
    Forensic reporting and documentation

    Structured, court-ready reporting that documents methodology, findings, and chain-of-custody history for expert testimony and case files.

How we work

From evidentiary scope to live software

  1. Weeks 1-3
    01

    Discovery and evidentiary scoping

    We map your evidence types, chain-of-custody requirements, and the platforms your data lives on. You leave with a written scope and a fixed-price quote.

  2. Weeks 3-7
    02

    Architecture and data model design

    We design the evidence data model, chain-of-custody architecture, and integration layer for custodian data sources. Hash verification and tamper-evidence are designed in from the start.

  3. Weeks 7-24
    03

    Build in two-week sprints

    You review working software at each sprint. Collection, chain-of-custody, and review components are built and tested incrementally.

  4. Final 3-4 weeks
    04

    Forensic integrity testing and rollout

    The software runs against real or representative evidence data so your team can validate hash verification and audit logging before a live case depends on it.

Why us

Why legal and forensic teams choose RaftLabs

  • 01
    Senior engineers build what they scope

    The engineers who map your evidentiary requirements also build the system. No offshore handoff after the contract is signed.

  • 02
    Fixed price before development starts

    We scope the work, calculate the cost, and lock it in writing before any development starts.

  • 03
    Founded 2015, 100+ products shipped

    A track record building compliance-heavy, audit-critical software where data integrity and access logging are core requirements, not afterthoughts.

  • 04
    You own the source code

    No vendor lock-in after delivery. The codebase, and everything built into it, is yours.

Have a digital forensics or eDiscovery software project?

Tell us what evidence types and case volumes you're working with, and where your current process breaks down. We'll scope a fixed-cost build.

Scope your digital forensics or eDiscovery software project

Related services

What clients say

What clients say about working with us

Three-year average engagement. Founders and operators describing the work in their own words. No marketing varnish.

Gabe Moynagh
Gabe Moynagh
Ireland flagIreland
CEO, TuneClub

RaftLabs excelled in contemporary UI and delivered better high-fidelity wireframes. The team is culturally very strong, and they take a lot of pride in the quality of their work.

01 / 06

Digital Forensics & eDiscovery Software Development, scoped in one call.

Tell us what's broken. Within one business day you get a straight take on cost, timeline, and the right first step. No deck, no pressure.

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Frequently asked questions

Digital forensics software covers forensic evidence collection and imaging, chain-of-custody tracking, and forensic reporting. eDiscovery software covers litigation hold management, multi-custodian data collection, and document review. Custom software in this space typically combines pieces of both, scoped to how your firm or team actually handles digital evidence.

We build the technical infrastructure: cryptographic hash verification at collection and every subsequent access, timestamped audit logs, and tamper-evident storage. Whether a specific process satisfies your jurisdiction's evidentiary standards is a legal determination your counsel or forensic expert makes - we build to the requirements you define during discovery.

A single-purpose tool - forensic evidence collection with chain-of-custody tracking - typically runs $35,000-$70,000 and takes 12-18 weeks. A full platform with litigation hold management, multi-custodian collection, and document review runs $90,000-$160,000 over 18-28 weeks. We scope a fixed cost after discovery.

Commercial eDiscovery platforms charge per-GB hosting fees that scale unpredictably as case data grows, and they're general-purpose tools, not built around your firm's specific workflow. Custom software makes sense when your case volume doesn't fit a per-GB model well, or when you need collection tooling feeding into a platform you already use.

Yes. Collecting from email (Microsoft 365, Google Workspace), chat platforms (Slack, Teams), and cloud storage is standard eDiscovery collection work. We scope which platforms your cases actually touch during discovery and build the integrations to preserve required metadata.

Yes. Custodian identification, hold notice tracking, and preservation confirmation with escalation are commonly built alongside collection tooling, since a missed hold deadline creates real legal risk. We make hold compliance visible and auditable rather than dependent on memory.

Work with us

Tell us what you need. We'll tell you what it would take.

We scope Digital Forensics & eDiscovery Software Development in 30 minutes. You walk away with a clear cost, timeline, and approach. No commitment required.

  • Scope and cost agreed before work starts. No surprises. No obligation.
  • Working prototype within 3 weeks of kickoff.
  • Pay by milestone. You see progress before each invoice.
  • 60-day post-launch warranty. Bug fixes, UI tweaks, and deployment support. No retainer.
  • All conversations are NDA-protected.

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