Experts say the new Model Requirements for Electronic Records Management framework, MoReq2, will provide the standardized approach needed to apply records management principles to content, regardless of format or storage method. At the same time, they say, it might change records management functionality, certification, procurement, auditing, and education.

MoReq 2 is the latest version of the specification that has been the de facto standard in Europe for electronic records management systems. The final MoReq2 draft specification was approved by the European community in late February and can be downloaded free of charge at www.moreq2.eu.

Even before the specification's approval, Open Text publicly announced its support of MoReq 2. In addition, two ex-Soviet bloc countries have said they will adopt it as a national records management standard.

According to an Open Text press release announcing its support, MoReq 2 represents a giant step for?ward in unifying records management software standards and practices across Europe. It will give governments and corporations a single approach to managing their most important records - a daunting task for large organizations struggling with everincreasing stores of electronic information. For European corporations operating in multiple European countries, MoReq2 is particularly valuable because it will provide a single set of rules for all of Europe.

MoReq2 will be supported later this year by an XML (extensible markup language) schema that should boost interoperability between records management systems.

"If you need to change suppliers, merge with another company or demerge, you will be able to import or export [MoReq2] data," Marc Fresko, consulting services director at Serco, a company that led the work to define the specification, told Information World Review. "These are projects for which today you can be quoted millions of pounds."

The original MoReq standards, created at the DLM Forum in 2000, gained widespread recognition as a quality standard for e-records management systems. Setting the functional requirements for the management of e-records, MoReq is internationally recognized as a basis for auditing an existing records management system.