Records Management for MOSS, DoD 5015.2 Certification

Microsoft have decided to pursue Department of Defense 5015 Chapter 2 (5015.2) certification for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) 2007. The move rings logical-like. MOSS needs this key records management cert to stand competitive in the GOV arena, where other Enterprise CMS competitors such as Xythos and Stellent are making headway.Ethan Gur-esh, Program Manager at Microsoft, casually mentioned the MS decision back in June and additional information has recently made its way to the public eye, but no formal announcements have yet been made. Despite the relative lack of information, the decision does seem to have legs as there is a confirmed certification review date of May 14, 2007.As part of the overall SharePoint (MOSS) Records Management effort, the company is creating a Records Management Center Add-on Pack that will bring the additional DoD 5015.2 functionality to the platform. Some folks concerned with sensitive records management, are wondering if Microsoft will also achieve Chapter 4 certification, but there's no definitive word on this yet.In support of the new ECM and Records Management direction for MOSS 2007, Microsoft have released an Enterprise Content Management Starter Kit for the beta 2 version of MOSS and the Records Management team have publish a large amount of information on the team blog. In a series of recent articles, the MS Records Management team have covered the following topics:

• MOSS Records Management: Content Types
• MOSS Records Management: Document Information Panel
• MOSS Records Management: Information Management Policies (Part I)
• MOSS Records Management: Information Management Policies (Part II)
• MOSS Records Management: Expiration Policies
• MOSS Records Management: Auditing
• MOSS Records Management(s): Barcode and Labeling Policies
• MOSS Records Management: Declaring Records in SharePoint Sites
• MOSS Records Management: "Records Center" sites (Part I)
• MOSS Records Management: Hold Orders

The StandardsU.S. DoD 5015 Chapter 2 is the de facto records management standard in North America. It defines the basic requirements that must be met by records management applications acquired by the Department of Defense and its components based on operational, legislative and legal needs. U.S. DoD 5015 Chapter 4 verifies a system's ability to control the creation, declaration, classification, retention and destruction of classified electronic and non-electronic records, including scanned documents.So Microsoft has to decide just how far to take MOSS. To achieve DoD 5015 Chapter 4 certification, a company must demonstrate that its records management technologies can define and manage classification guides and rules for security clearance levels, and provide security features -- such as access control lists and classification schemes -- that allow records managers to control document access. Stay tuned on that. The Department of Defense 5015 Chapter 2 standard is directed at improving the preservation of official records in accordance with applicable Federal law. In addition, DoD 5015 Chapter 2 is used by other countries including Denmark, South Africa and others as their government records management standard.Not to worry if you're stuck in the world of the older SharePoint Portal Server, as previously Mobius and Microsoft teamed for SharePoint Records Management.