Getting from point A to point B: what it means to take a federated approach.

• Author: Irvin, Reed E.
• Position: BUSINESS MATTERS

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Among the many products available to help organizations simplify the challenge of managing their information, a sub-set of these will promise to take a federated approach to get the job done. Yet, while the term federation has become ubiquitous, its definition presents a host of complexities. Whether the solution is used for records management, e-mail archiving, or e-discovery, it is revealing to learn which attributes make a product a federated solution.

First, do not misinterpret the moniker of "federation" as the ultimate answer for content control. It is actually a method that applications use to talk to other applications. And the degree to which they communicate is where the difference in implementation of federation occurs. So, be aware as the word is used in various contexts.

In the information management world, federation is generally described as the ability to access information and communicate between disparate content silos. The act of federating to all content--created in document management systems, collaboration programs, file systems, e-mail applications, e-mail archives and more- means it is potentially governable under one umbrella. To accomplish federation, some solutions first pull content into one repository while others leave information in source applications and native repositories. Both approaches facilitate comprehensive searching, assuming that in the first scenario information has to be moved or copied to the new repository.

Hypothetically, there are fewer management headaches involved with the single repository approach, and certainly most organizations today are looking to reduce the number they have--not add to them. Theoretically, having one repository to apply retention policy against would seem to reduce complexity. The drawback, however, is it requires human effort to ensure that only one copy of the record exists and serious discipline to delete all other convenience copies. Content that isn't brought into the repository, for whatever reason, is left unmanaged and can become a risk to the organization.

Federated Approaches Can Vary

The differences between one federated solution and another can be as dramatic as night and day. Even though the end result may be similar, one solution is getting to point B via a long and winding road with copious planning and pricey customization. In other instances goals can be accomplished in a clear-cut manner with little disruption to the business...