US breakthrough for Aussie RM vendor Tower

By Stuart Finlayson

Australian records management software vendor Tower Technology has made an important breakthrough in the US market with its Seraph document management and content management system by gaining official certification for the product from the US Department of Defense.

Without the DoD 5015.2-STD certification the DoD and other Federal Government agency contracts would be unobtainable, says Tower's research and development director, Jon Palin.

"You simply can't sell these types of systems into the US Government without this certification, so it's a crucial step in being able to sell Seraph in the US, as potential partners wouldn't consider us without this certification. Additionally, it's beginning to show its face in the commercial market as well, as companies are struggling to keep records of all their electronic records in compliance with the new Sarbanes-Oxley regulations."

The certification has rigorous requirements for systematic control of the creation, maintenance, use, reproduction and disposition of records for the purpose of regulatory and legal compliance.

Consequently, the DoD certification is being adopted by Federal and State Government around the US, as well as business, the logic being that if it is certified to comply with the DoD's exacting standards then it should have all the functionality needed by those other parties.

"I think it gives a lot of people a high degree of comfort that the product has reached a level of maturity to be able to pass all the particular requirements, and since Seraph is a new product, it is absolutely vital for us to get that message across," adds Palin.

Related Article:

Alphawest joins the Towers in GSAS