• The DEC is a common central information system for different ERMSs and applications for handling the documents of state portals. The objectives of the DEC are the following:
• interfacing dispersed information systems through the secure data exchange layer X-Road;
• short-term preservation of documents
• in the future, provision of services that will support the proceeding of documents;
• long-term preservation and backup of documents.

Using the DEC as a central asynchronous buffering component on the distributed X-Road infrastructure is justified by the need to simplify the joining of ERMS with the state document exchange infrastructure as well as to ensure the reliability of document exchange. The functionality of the DEC is independent of the document format and does not impose any document type restrictions.  

The DEC offers several advantages. In order to launch electronic document exchange, an agency needs to a) have electronic documents and records management software (ERMS) which is interfaced to DEC; b) join the DEC and the environment’s services must be opened for it. Furthermore, records management systems willing to join the DEC only need to be able to make X-Road queries, without having to be able to respond to them. At the same time, the DEC (as a database) must be able to respond to X-Road queries, but does not have to transmit them to many different systems. Lastly, the DEC as a central high availability information system acts as an asynchronous buffer, ensuring the possibility to preserve a document when the document management system of the receiving agency is not available and accept the document at a time suitable for the receiver.  

As of October 2007 the document type “letter” was described. In the longer perspective, the use of the DEC will be extended so as to include other types of documents (e.g. financial documents, such as invoices). In addition, the evolution of the DEC towards an infrastructure for the transmission of messages with described semantics can be foreseen. The DEC will allow to gradually implementing paperless document exchange in the public sector regardless of the ERMS used in specific agencies. Such a document exchange will ensure the integrity of transmitted digital documents and create preconditions for their long-term preservation.

Source: epractice.eu