Autonomy's core infrastructure software the Intelligent Data Operating Layer (IDOL) can understand the meaning of information from over 1,000 data formats including audio, video, IM and email and identify patterns between disparate pieces of information thus ensuring comprehensiveness of the results defensible in court. The new Practice means that AVT can offer customers complete voice and data technology services, from providing voice recording systems and dealer boards, to data archiving and analysis.

The Practice's first customers are likely to be finance companies, where AVT already has a strong presence. The global economic crisis has resulted in an increase in legal investigations and regulatory compliance processes prompting the need for technologies capable of extracting content's digital essence thus allowing processes to be automatically performed. AVT's Autonomy Practice will offer bespoke Autonomy-based systems and consultancy services, as well as standard software packages.

AVT is seeing strong demand for systems that can help companies analyse and understand the connections between different electronic data, in order to comply with regulation. Autonomy's products let companies automate the process of searching through voice and text data and ascribe meaning to it (it will search corporate data to find all communications and text relating to a particular deal, or legal issue, for example). It works by matching patterns across different communications formats - voice, email, IM and video links, for example - and linking relevant information regardless of format.

Mike Fenton, CEO, AVT, says: "The current market means there is huge demand for transparency, particularly - but not exclusively - in the finance industry. Companies are investing in voice and data systems that record, analyse and archive all the information going through them, so they can keep accurate records and comply with regulation. As the impact of the current fient financial crisis hits, we'll see more investigations and legal regulation, which means a greater need for this kind of technology. There's likely to be a knock-on effect beyond the financial markets, with higher requirements across all industries for data analysis and archiving. Autonomy is the most sophisticated software available to do this."

AVT Systems will initially offer its customers Meaning-based solutions for eDiscovery, Consolidated Archiving, Records Management, and Early Case Assessment, a unique solution for rapid data search and review that helps companies establish whether there is a case for a more in-depth analysis.