Meridio's version 5 of their enterprise document and records management solution, leverages the Microsoft Office 2007 components including SharePoint, integrates with Exchange Server 2007, and runs on Windows Vista.Their aim is to deliver comprehensive electronic governance solutions on Microsoft's' .NET foundation products, and this is just so on time with Redmond's recent mega product release announcements.Meridio addresses governance needs by delivering records management functionality that works to stay compliant with government regulations, focusing on the business data record reuse, delivering defense industry compliant security, architecting around single instance data, and building low-level integration with products like the Microsoft Office System. "Our customers are asking for high-value governance solutions that help them to manage their compliance and litigation liabilities while at the same time improve their business processes and information resources," said Brian Baird, CEO Meridio. The trick with records management is integration at both the IT and the behavioral level. Ever a challenge, the success of new systems is inevitably a delicate balance between these two aspects of how data is moved and stored throughout the enterprise. At the IT integration level Meridio ties into Exchange Server 2007 to help an organization take advantage of Exchange as an information repository and manage the liability of Email. Exchange Server 2007 Managed Folders are linked to Meridio Enterprise Document Capture to meet compliance needs for Email. Meridio Storage Services for SharePoint (MOSS) works with the SharePoint Records Repository to migrate content between high-capacity storage and specialized compliance devices. The solution leverages SharePoint 2007 policy features to initiative the ILM cycle, and work within the SharePoint repository. With Meridio Storage Services for SharePoint organizations can implement a strategy that: * Optimizes storage costs, by ensuring that SharePoint Server 2007content is on the lowest cost media most appropriate for the value of the content * Increases operational efficiency by reducing the backup and restore times of the SharePoint database. * Achieve compliance by placing critical records on specialized compliance devices. On the regulation front, Meridio is well positioned in the UK, Australia, and the US, being certified against the latest eDRM standards including the UK The National Archives TNA 2002 and US DOD 5015.2 standards. Given Microsoft's own aspirations in this department, readers might be wondering how the two companies get along. Despite Microsoft's efforts around SharePoint Records Management, it seems Meridio has positioned itself carefully enough to stay in good favor with Redmond. The complementary nature of their Storage Services for SharePoint no doubt has a lot to do with this. "With the significant impact of regulatory compliance as well as the explosion of content facing enterprise companies today, we continue to see increasing demand for document and records management solutions to help customers increase the efficiency and cost effectiveness of Enterprise Content Management," said Rob Bernard, General Manager, Worldwide ISV Group, Microsoft. "We are excited to be working with Meridio to deliver solutions ...which will bring governance solutions to the 2007 Microsoft Office system." Friendly words from Rob and an optimistic integration tale may just pave the way for early success in the MOSS area. As the company claims, they are 100% Microsoft-aligned, from technology through to distribution channel partners. And version 5 is well faithful to this story.
