Silver Spring, MD, USA -- A nine-month research effort into the Records Management technology marketplace has found that buyers face a vendor community divided into 2 broad groups: a vigorous set of independent suppliers offering largely stand-alone products, and multiple ECM "Suite" vendors who are tightly knitting their records management tools into their core repositories. Neither group offers a particularly strong multi-repository integration story, the report finds.
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The report was released today by CMS Watch, an analyst firm that evaluates Enterprise Content Management strategies and technologies for prospective solutions buyers.

The Records Management Report was written by Priscilla Emery, a longtime document and records management consultant and industry analyst, and three-decade IT veteran. "Although many vendors tout their compliance with government specifications such as DoD 5015.2 and UK PRO, most users require features and integration capabilities that are consistent with their present and future document and data repositories," reports Emery.

Emery adds, "In addition to challenges integrating with sister products under newly-merged ECM suites, vendors' efforts to integrate with other repositories have been less than ideal for the multi-repository environment that exists in many large enterprises."

Key findings of the report include:

• Enterprise Content Management (ECM) Suite vendors continue to hone their records management offerings, but these modules remain closely tied to that vendor's core repository. Application-specific -- rather than enterprisewide -- implementations remain the norm.

• A plethora of specialty / vertical players continues to create successful niches in the marketplace.

Based on interviews with systems integrators, end-users, and the vendors themselves, the report features analysis and comparative surveys of 25 records management vendors. It is designed to help enterprises make informed records management technology strategies and buying decisions. The report is available for purchase online from CMS Watch </RM/Report/>.

In addition to vendor segments, the 164 page report also addresses several other critical issues for an enterprise investigating records management solutions, including:

• ROI analysis.

• Detailed functional charts explaining canonical records management features.

• Implementation advice and best practices.

Like other CMS Watch offerings, the Records Management Report does not rank "best" or "magic" vendors, but instead profiles the strengths and weaknesses of the various players, identifies their suitability for different use cases, and isolates vendor tendencies that may influence longterm product roadmaps.

"Technology buyers look to CMS Watch for vendor-neutral counsel on content management and enterprise search strategies and tools," said CMS Watch founder and report publisher, Tony Byrne. "I'm thrilled we can now provide the same independent advice for Records Management technologies," Byrne added.