Leading vendors collaborate for records management scheme

Leading vendors have teamed up with a European Commission-backed records management group to develop an XML schema that improves the interoperability of records systems built by different vendors.

The DLM Forum Foundation has established a new technical committee that will oversee the development of the so-called MoReq2010 (MoReq being shorthand for modular records) records management specification, which is backed by the likes of Oracle, HP, EMC and Open Text.

MoReq2010 enables interoperability between different records management systems by introducing a defined shared data model, said Jon Garde, of helpdesk vendor Journal IT and a member of the newly formed MoReq2010 technical committee.

“It enables commercial and government organisations to secure and develop critical information independent of email, document content management, cloud and mobile systems, so that when systems are changed, updated, migrated or integrated, the security, value and probity of the records is maintained,” he added.

The MoReq specification provides an outline for the essential elements that a system requires to ensure records are properly managed, accessed and retained for as long as necessary. It also covers the disposal of records.

Records management is likely to rise up the IT leader agenda over the coming years, as the volume of enterprise data rockets. Analyst firm Gartner predicts that across the globe companies will increase their spending on records management tools, with a five-year compound annual growth rate of 12 per cent between 2009 and 2014.