FileNet Corporation, a provider of enterprise content and business process management solutions, has added FileNet Records Crawler to its Records Manager Suite, becoming the first record management offering to include a rules-based capture and management solution for unmanaged records at the file system level.

FileNet Records Crawler controls and audits the records declaration process, automating the decision of how to manage the record based on corporate standards and procedures, not on individual preferences or interpretations of policies. FileNet Records Manager then controls the balance of the record's life cycle, for instance, retention, access control, privacy, legal holds, and the disposition process, including destruction. This capability enables organizations to enforce compliance policies at the technology layer, minimizing the risk of user-related error while enhancing productivity, reducing cost, and enabling best-practice records management. Most important, this ensures organizations can find, produce, and authenticate records when needed.

The need for a robust records management solution is driven by two factors: First, electronic discovery/litigation costs and regulations now mandate organizations properly store and manage all business records. Second, as much as 80 percent of a company's electronic records currently are unmanaged and reside on employee hard drives and network file systems. These unmanaged records generally are noncompliant and subject to theft and inappropriate alteration and/or improper destruction by users. The result is organizations are exposed to an elevated risk because they cannot find, produce, or authenticate records during a discovery event.