DOD 8180: What it means for information governance and how Hyland can help
The U.S. Department of Defense’s new approach aligns perfectly with how Hyland manages data for federal agencies.
Hyland has met key compliance standards set by the U.S. Department of Defense with Manual 8180.01. The achievement, accomplished with Hyland’s Alfresco Governance Services Records Management Application, “further demonstrates and cements our capability to securely and expertly serve our federal agency customers, who can confidently rely on our technology to enhance mission-critical operations,” Hyland Director of Federal Government Troy Doller said.
What is DOD 8180.01?
DOD Manual 8180.01 “implements policy, assigns responsibilities, and provides procedures specific to electronic records management (ERM) for DOD information technology (IT) acquisition, configuration, implementation, and maintenance of IT systems and services.”
Put more simply, DOD 8180.01 is a tool for the Pentagon to evaluate an electronic records management platform’s potential to comply with specific policies. The manual, released in August 2023, now serves as the benchmark for records management in the public sector.
The manual is a key component of the Department of Defense’s first-ever Records Strategy. The strategy, released in May 2023, establishes the DOD’s “direction for well-managed records, providing decision makers with the context to act based on trustworthy information, historical consistency, and analytical rigor.”
How 8180.01 presents a key shift
Deep Analysis Founder Alan Pelz-Sharpe said DOD 8180.01 is “a paradigm shift” for information governance.
“It shifts the focus from ‘documents’ to data/information,” Pelz-Sharpe wrote. “It recognizes that there is no one system or location to manage them.”
Instead, 8180.01 guides organizations on “how to deal with the reality,” Pelz-Sharpe wrote. The Deep Analysis founder then pointed to this excerpt from the DOD manual: “This plan includes the existence and use of shared archives, records repositories, or data warehouses and provides information about standard or accepted formats.”
Doller agrees, saying the new approach of 8180.01 “goes beyond managing individual documents as records and emphasizes the management of data and information, regardless of its format or where it’s housed.”
“The core idea,” Doller added, “is recognizing that in the age of digital transformation, valuable information can exist not just in formal documents but in a variety of different file formats and will often include unstructured data within systems. The approach shifts the focus from maintaining discrete, tangible documents to ensuring that the underlying information, no matter where it resides, is accessible, secure and with the advent of AI can offer contextual insights.”
Federal agency flies high with Hyland
The Federal Aviation Agency replaced an aging document management system with Hyland’s Alfresco. The initiative turned into so much more, as it expanded into the onboarding of business partners and generated strong financial benefits.
Why Hyland’s achievement is important
The DOD’s new approach to information governance aligns perfectly with how Hyland’s Alfresco manages data for federal government agencies.
Alfresco Governance Services brings simplicity — with its near invisibility to end users — and control to information governance.
Key capabilities
- Automated records management: Alfresco Governance Services automates the declaration and filing process, and makes end-to-end processes happen automatically and invisibly.
- Legal holds: The solution ensures the preservation of key data for active or anticipated investigations such as audits or litigation.
- Manage in place: Hyland’s Alfresco Federation Services manages records in their existing repository and gains centralized control over content and records that are distributed across disparate systems — without the need for costly or complex content migration.
Key benefits
- Increased user adoption: Information governance is managed automatically, without the need for individual user attention.
- Reduced risk: Configurable, role-based access controls and security policies maximize interoperability and minimize risk.
- Increased compliance: The right information is delivered to the right user at the right time, while meeting records management and open government compliance standards worldwide.
- Decreased storage costs: Effective information life cycle management optimizes the management, retention and destruction of content.
We can reassure federal agencies that our on-prem solution will continue to receive updates, patches and security enhancements and is positioned to be a stable, long-term alternative to SharePoint on-prem.
— Troy Doller, Director of Federal Government, Hyland
Meeting federal agencies where they are
DOD 8180.01 comes on the heels of another major cultural shift for federal agencies. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) M-23-07 directive required all federal agencies to manage their permanent records electronically by June 30, 2024.
Going paperless saves taxpayers time and money, and creates better experiences by eliminating cumbersome traditional methods. For government agencies, digital modernization can bring huge returns — from resource optimization and higher scalability to quicker response times and more efficient services.
That’s not always so simple for federal agencies, many of which have strict data control and security requirements that prevent them from moving to the cloud. Another potential complication: SharePoint 2019 On-Premises entered the first phase of its end of life in 2024, and Microsoft plans to cease all updates in July 2026.
Hyland, by meeting agencies where they are, can fill that gap, Doller said.
Alfresco can be deployed on-prem, in the cloud, and via hybrid or managed services models.
“We can reassure federal agencies that our on-prem solution will continue to receive updates, patches and security enhancements and is positioned to be a stable, long-term alternative to SharePoint on-prem,” Doller said.
