## 1 Introduction
On the other hand, cloud computing and virtualization technologies offer well-established resource orchestration and management solutions that can meet the functional and performance requirements of network applications [17]. In addition, the conceptual architecture of microservices enables the creation of tailor-made applications based on discrete components, each responsible for a specific task. The combination of these technologies provides a promising approach to address the resource management issues faced by digital forensics tools, helping to streamline the analysis process and optimize resource utilization. We argue that the digital forensics ecosystem can benefit from the adoption of the microservices concept, which allows greater adaptability and interoperability. In parallel, this framework ensures the essential dynamical computing, storage, and network resources, facilitating the deployment of complex applications that accelerate data processing and enhance analytical capabilities, while adhering to high isolation and security standards. This article proposes a microservice-based architecture for digital forensics applications, which is crucial for investigating electronic evidence and detecting anti-competitive practices in competition cases. With the increasing reliance on digital communications, competition and regulatory authorities often encounter complex cases involving collusion, price-fixing, and abuse of dominant market positions [18]. Digital forensics techniques help in extracting, preserving, and analyzing data from various sources (email clients, messaging apps, cloud storage, corporate networks, wearables, etc. ), which is instrumental in uncovering evidence that may be otherwise concealed. By employing contemporary forensics tools, competition investigators can trace communication patterns, reconstruct events, and identify key actors involved in anti-competitive conduct, thereby strengthening the legal process and promoting a fair market environment. Digital forensics is also of primary importance for competition economics by providing the tools and methodologies necessary to uncover and analyze digital evidence in cases related to antitrust violations and market manipulation. In an increasingly data-driven economy, digital forensics techniques enable authorities and experts to investigate vast volumes of digital records, including emails, server logs, financial transactions, and communication data, to identify evidence of anti-competitive agreements. By leveraging advanced data analytics, forensic investigators can trace hidden patterns, detect illicit agreements, and evaluate market behaviors that may harm consumers or stifle competition. Digital forensics not only strengthen the enforcement of competition laws, but also support a fair and transparent marketplace by ensuring accountability and compliance in the digital domain. Through a competition policy use case, we make the following contributions of the microservice-based architecture for digital forensics applications deployed over a private cloud infrastructure:  
* Modern forensics applications consist of several distinct components. The proposed architecture enables the customization of service workflows, including AI-based processes. * The processing of digital evidence includes compute-intensive tasks, such as data acquisition, data carving, document indexing, and image processing. The proposed microservice architecture enables dynamic resource orchestration and provisioning, while satisfying essential computational, network, and security requirements. * The performance of the proposed framework is assessed using real, anonymized data from the private cloud of the Hellenic Competition Commission, employing a commercial forensic software. The rest of this article is structured as follows. Section 2 presents the most related studies in digital forensics and cloud orchestration, while Section 3 describes the basic stages of the digital investigation process.