Don Leuders wrote: You might want to check out my blog, http://sharepointrm.wordpress.com/, for more details.

Hi Don, I love it when people disagree!  I just briefly read through a few posts on your blog and will endeavor to return for a more thorough read soon.  Good stuff!

I will agree with you that SharePoint *can* be used to manage records, however as you describe here and on your blog, its functionality *is* limited, especially OOTB.  Unless  RM needs are pretty basic (which for some they are, and some truly are not), and you don't expect those needs to change dramatically in the future, then perhaps SharePoint will do the job just fine.

One of the larger issues with SharePoint for some folks is that it takes the "repository" approach to RM - meaning it will only manage content that resides in SharePoint.  If that isn't a problem for an organization, cool; if, however, you have valid needs to be able to manage records in a "federated" capacity, SharePoint isn't the answer, at least for now.  So, any investment in SharePoint will still require an investment in something else (even if it is just time) to manage the stuff SharePoint can't reach  (feel free to correct me if you feel I'm wrong!).

Folks should also understand that there will always be an investment involved in getting SharePoint to a point of usefulness for RM, even on the most basic level; and unless you have in-house programmers with SharePoint expertise who can devote a significant amount of time customizing your installation, you'll spend money on contract programmers and/or on buying 3rd party apps/bolt-ons.  The investment required for a SharePoint RM implementation should be carefully weighed against the investment necessary for other products that can do the same things.  It may end up, depending on RM needs and IT resources, a RM-specific product may end up costing less in the long run, and maybe even right out of the gate; and may provide useful functionality and/or flexibility that SharePoint simply cannot.

I think it would be irresponsible to not consider SharePoint, because as you point out, many organizations have already made an investment in it to some degree or another, but I would also think it irresponsible to ONLY consider SharePoint just because you've already got it.  (Not that this is what you, or anyone else except maybe some IT folks, are suggesting.)

So, what is the appropriateness of using SharePoint for RM?  Well, as Larry Medina likes to say, "It depends" ... It depends on your RM needs, your IT architecture, your overall SharePoint strategy, your financial and human resources ...

Thanks for indulging me.

Julie











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