System and method of in-place content management

Abstract

A system and method of an in-place content management system that allows an organization to bring the power of an enterprise content management (ECM) system (supporting such features as check-out, check-in, security, audit, add, rename, move, delete, classification, legal holds and disposition) to the data where it resides on an NTFS file system, eliminating the need to move it somewhere else and without having to change the way end-users work. A utility or tool for content management that leverages the existing security that is already in place on files and folders and adds basic content management features such as check-out/check-in (preventing multiple users from editing the same document at the same time), audit history, and the ability to add classifications, trigger dispositions, and apply legal holds on documents where they currently reside.