Secure records package gets DOD approval

Three vendors have teamed to deliver what they believe is one of the more comprehensive government-certified solutions for securely managing electronic records.

Storage system maker Network Appliance (NetApp) Inc., records management software vendor MDY Advanced Technologies Inc. and storage security specialist Decru Inc. announced last week that an integrated package of their products has been jointly certified under the Defense Department's stringent 5015.2 standard certification for electronic records management applications.

"With all the new standards coming out, there's a big hole in the solution set out there," said Mark Moerdler, MDY's president. "People are putting documents in a repository, but how do you store them? And how do you assure that people don't have back-end access to the records?"

By bundling a solution that integrates records management, content management and secure archiving through data encryption and electronic file-shredding features, "we've extended the reach of this certified solution set," Moerdler said.

The 5015.2 standard defines the basic requirements that must be met by records management application products acquired by DOD and its agencies. It includes provisions for creating, maintaining and disposing of federal electronic records.

The National Archives and Records Administration has endorsed the DOD standard for use governmentwide.

Last week's news marks the first time that NetApp's storage devices and Decru's DataFort security appliances have achieved the 5015.2 certification. MDY's FileSurf records management software previously received certification both on its own and through several integrated packages with other vendors' products.

The new certification applies to NetApp's entire line of storage systems, according to Mike Marchi, the company's senior director of marketing.

It also applies to Decru's products, said Kevin Brown, the company's vice president of marketing. DataFort appliances encrypt data before it is written to the storage media, such as disk or tape, then decrypts it when it is requested by an authorized user or application.

One government official, Caryl Masyr Smith, a senior vice president of the New York City Economic Development Corp., welcomed the recent certification of the NetApp/MDY/Decru product bundle, saying that the lack of 5015.2 certified products has been frustrating for organizations seeking effective records management solutions.

The corporation is a not-for-profit agency that manages New York City's property, including selling real estate and managing leases. It is in the midst of deploying MDY's FileSurf in conjunction with iManage Inc.'s document management software, a product combination that received 5015.2 certification earlier this year.