Patent Document ID: 10078668
Application ID: 14483136

Base Claim:
1. A computer-implemented method for utilizing information-asset metadata aggregated from multiple disparate data-management systems, at least a portion of the method being performed by a first computing device comprising at least one processor, the method comprising: receiving, by an electronic-discovery system executing on the first computing device, a request for information about one or more information assets of an entity whose metadata satisfies a metadata-search criterion, wherein: the information assets of the entity are: distributed across a plurality of information-asset sources of the entity; and managed by at least: a first data-management system that: executes on a second computing device; generates, by scanning at least one of the plurality of information-asset sources, metadata for at least a first portion of the information assets; and transmits, via an application programming interface of a remote metadata repository executing on a third computing device, metadata for the first portion of the information assets to the third computing device for storage in the remote metadata repository; and a second data-management system that: executes on a forth computing device; generates, by scanning at least one of the plurality of information-asset sources, metadata for at least a second portion of the information assets; and transmits, via the application programming interface, the metadata for the second portion of the information assets to the third computing device for storage in the remote metadata repository; the remote metadata repository stores the metadata for the first portion of the information assets and the metadata for the second portion of the information assets; the first data-management system and the second data-management system are different types of data-management systems that manage the information assets of the entity in different fields of data management; and the first data-management system, the second data-management system, the electronic-discovery system, and the remote metadata repository are separate and distinct systems that are capable of independent operation; querying, by the electronic-discovery system via the application programming interface, the remote metadata repository for information about one or more of the information assets whose metadata satisfies the metadata-search criterion; receiving, by the electronic-discovery system via the application programming interface of the remote metadata repository, information about at least one information asset whose metadata satisfies the metadata-search criterion; utilizing, at the electronic-discovery system, scanning efforts of the first data-management system or the second data-management system to discover the at least one information asset without scanning any of the plurality of information-asset sources by using the information, received from the remote metadata repository, about the information asset whose metadata satisfies the metadata-search criterion to discover the at least one information asset; and responding, by the electronic-discovery system, to the request using the information about the information asset.

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Claim 9:
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of information-asset sources comprise at least one of: a file server; a mail server; a document server; a collaboration system; a social network; a cloud-based storage system.