A Comprehensive Approach To Compliance

FileNet Corp. last week began shipping what it says is a one-stop compliance-management system intended to help businesses meet regulations, such as those mandated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and Basel II. Compliance Framework includes workflow tools for records management, forms management, content management, and collaboration. It provides real-time alerts of material events such as a breach in security or the loss of a key customer. Under Sarbanes-Oxley section 409, companies are required to disclose some of these events to the Securities and Exchange Commission within 48 hours of their occurrence.

Compliance Framework is designed to help companies incorporate both structured information, such as database records, and unstructured information into their record-keeping. FileNet's workflow-oriented approach should appeal to companies seeking to systematize their compliance efforts, says John Hagerty, an AMR Research analyst. The software "is picking up on a mood of businesses that are looking to make compliance efforts reusable."

Among FileNet's partners for helping companies implement a compliance plan are BearingPoint, for consulting and integration; BEA Systems, to provide an application infrastructure; and Network Appliance for storage devices.