Network Appliance today announced that its enterprise storage solutions have been integrated with MDY Advanced Technologies FileSurf records-management software and Decru DataFort storage security appliance to achieve U.S. Department of Defense 5015.2-STD certification for electronic records management applications. The highly secure records-management solution enables government and business users to manage information storage more easily and cost-effectively while meeting stringent data protection and shredding regulations designed to increase national security and minimize legal and intelligence risks.

The DoD 5015.2-STD certification is a records management application (RMA) test with rigorous requirements for systematic control of the creation, maintenance, use, reproduction, and deletion of records. By meeting these requirements, the joint NetApp, MDY, and Decru solution becomes a key application providing integrated records management, content management, and archiving for the purpose of regulatory and legal compliance. The joint solution features military-grade encryption and file shredding on Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server databases that run on Network Appliance primary FAS (fabric-attached storage) and NearStore nearline storage systems.

"Government and business users face stringent security compliance requirements in the area of records management," said Mark Santora, senior vice president of marketing at Network Appliance. "Offering customers the joint NetApp, MDY, and Decru solution, we can now deliver industry-compliant storage solutions across our full range of offerings and meet a wide range of mission and business needs for our security-focused customers."

"This solution sets a new standard of security for DoD 5015.2-STD-certified document management and storage solutions," said Peter Gerr, analyst at the Enterprise Storage Group. "By combining platforms from leading vendors in storage, security, and document management, these joint solutions provide flexible and certified capabilities for government and security-conscious enterprises."

"This is the first DoD 5015.2 version 2 certified solution that combines enterprise content management, electronic and physical records management with large volume storage capacities and true document data security," said Galina Datskovsky, CEO of MDY Advanced Technologies.

"Government and enterprise customers are demanding solutions that deliver end-to-end security and compliance," said Dan Avida, CEO at Decru. "By leveraging hardware-based encryption, the NetApp, Decru, and MDY solution insures that sensitive data is never stored in cleartext. The default state of data is secure, providing unprecedented protection for our country's most important information."

"In the age of information vulnerability, Lockheed Martin Army ITES team is demonstrating our commitment to Army leadership by complying with DoD directives such as Department of Defense Directive 5015.2 and Directive 8500.1," says David Randall, Army ITES Program Manager, Lockheed Martin. "Information Assurance is one of the fundamental offerings at Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin Army ITES, partnering with Network Appliance, demonstrates 5015.2 certification of its storage systems."

DoD 5015.2-STD defines the basic requirements based on operational, legislative and legal needs that must be met by RMA products that are acquired by the Department of Defense (DoD) and its components. This standard is issued under the authority of DoD Directive 5015.2, "Department of Defense Records Management Program," April 11, 1997, which provides implementing and procedural guidance on the management of records in the Department of Defense. This standard sets forth mandatory baseline functional requirements for RMA software used by DoD components in the implementation of their records-management programs, defines required system interfaces and search criteria to be supported by the RMAs, and describes the minimum records-management requirements that must be met, based on current NARA regulations.

This standard applies to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Military Departments, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Combatant Commands, the Inspector General of the Department of Defense, the Defense Agencies, and the DoD Field Activities.

MDY Advanced Technologies provides state-of-the-art records, document, and knowledge management solutions and enterprise-wide system implementation services. MDY's unique mix of software plus services gives organizations a single point of accountability to comply with records regulations, reduce risk, lower operational costs, and effectively implement knowledge management policies, procedures, and best practices. MDY's FileSurf Records Management Software integrates with Microsoft Outlook, IBM Lotus Notes, Novell GroupWise, iManage, Documentum, and Hummingbird document management systems to automate physical, electronic, and email record keeping processes. FileSurf is certified by the U.S. DoD 5015.2 (Version 2) Standard for records management software, which is increasingly being adopted by organizations in a wide variety of industries.

Decru develops storage security solutions to address a range of business needs for enterprises and government, including intellectual property protection, regulatory compliance, privacy, and internal controls. Decru DataFort protects the core of the storage network with a layer of strong encryption, authentication, access controls and compartmentalization. Decru DataFort appliances can be deployed transparently in SAN, NAS, DAS and tape backup environments, with no changes to servers, desktops, applications, or user workflow.

Network Appliance is a world leader in unified storage solutions for today's data-intensive enterprise. Since its inception in 1992, Network Appliance has delivered technology, product, and partner firsts that continue to drive "The evolution of storage."