What are the Risks? - Digital Preservation Coalition

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“Failing to preserve digital materials renders them unusable”

These Risk statements are arranged by organization type so you could either select the relevant Risks within your type or, if you know that your organization is particularly concerned with ‘compliance’ for example, you could identify all of the statements associated with that Motivator.

Critically Endangered small Remember that some of the Risks statements for other organization types, with the same Motivator, might also hold significance in your organization.

For more on the risks of failing to preserve digital materials, see the DPC's 'Bit List' of Digitally Endangered Species. By compiling and maintaining this list over the coming years, the DPC aims to celebrate great digital preservation endeavors as entries become less of a ‘concern,’ whilst still highlighting the need for efforts to safeguard those still considered ‘critically endangered.’

Organization Type		Risk	Potential Consequences	Key Motivators
All organizations		Data safety and security are compromised.	Data loss/corruption Disruption of business/organisation’s functions Confidence loss Damage to reputation Loss/reduction in funding/revenue Unable to meet legal/regulatory requirements	Authenticity Business Continuity Compliance Reputation Revenue Security
All organizations		Technologies used become obsolete; this may apply to elements such as hardware, software and file formats.	Unable to provide access to digital objects Required to maintain expensive legacy systems Disruption of business/organisation’s functions Unable to provide audit trails Unable to meet legal/regulatory requirements	Accountability Authenticity Compliance Corporate / Cultural Memory Costs Enabling Research Technology
All organizations		The bits and bytes making up the digital information degrade over time.	Data loss/corruption Unable to meet legal/regulatory requirements	Authenticity Compliance Corporate / Cultural Memory Enabling Research
All organizations		Insufficient contextual information (metadata) to understand the information and for it to be useful.	Unable to provide access to digital objects Disruption of business/organization’s functions Unable to meet legal/regulatory requirements	Authenticity Business Continuity Compliance Corporate / Cultural Memory Enabling Research
All organizations		Lack of supporting legislation to facilitate preservation, particularly relating to copyright/IPR, privacy and legal deposit.	Unable to carry out necessary preservation actions Data loss Unable to provide access to digital objects Unable to meet legal/regulatory requirements	Business Continuity Compliance Corporate / Cultural Memory Enabling Research
All organizations		Rate of data creation outstrips capacity for storage, processing and preservation.	Important digital objects are not captured within the preservation system Data loss/corruption	Accountability Business Continuity Compliance Corporate / Cultural Memory Enabling Research Security Technology
All organizations		Insufficient funding available to allow sustainable preservation procedures and systems to be established.	Data loss/corruption Unable to carry out necessary preservation actions Unable to provide access to digital objects Unable to meet legal/regulatory requirements	Business Continuity Compliance Costs Revenue Technology
All organizations		Insufficient staffing/skills to be able to carry out successful preservation.	Unable to carry out necessary preservation actions Data loss Unable to provide access to digital objects Unable to meet legal/regulatory requirements	Business Continuity Compliance Corporate / Cultural Memory Costs Enabling Research
Archives		Lack of collaboration behind different departments/areas of the organization	Unable to establish a sustainable, fit for purpose digital preservation programme Efforts duplicated in different departments/areas Inefficient use of resources	Business Continuity Costs
Archives		Executive level support for digital preservation is not persistent	Unable to establish a sustainable, fit for purpose digital preservation programme Data loss/corruption Unable to provide access to digital objects Unable to meet legal/regulatory requirements	Accountability Business Continuity Compliance Corporate / Cultural Memory Enabling Research Reputation Revenue
Archives		Failure to engage with stakeholders at all stages of the record life-cycle	Lack of support for digital preservation work System/procedures do not support user needs Do not capture necessary documentation Unable to provide access to digital objects in a useable format	Accountability Corporate / Cultural Memory Enabling Research Reputation
Archives		Failure to maintain preservation system and processes.	Preservation system/processes become redundant/ineffectual Data loss/corruption Unable to provide access to digital objects High cost of replacing/extracting data from outdated systems	Costs Reputation Technology
Business		Existing storage systems do not protect records from unauthorised change or corruption	Data loss/corruption Disruption of business/organisation’s functions Confidence loss Damage to reputation Loss/reduction in funding/revenue Unable to meet legal/regulatory requirements	Authenticity Business Continuity Compliance Reputation Revenue Security
Business		Staff fail to comply with organizational policy and processes in relation to management of records (reliability, authenticity, usability etc.),	Important digital objects not captured in preservation system Necessary documentation/metadata not created/captured Disruption of business/organisation’s functions Unable to meet legal/regulatory requirements	Authenticity Business Continuity Compliance Costs Reputation
Business		Inability to provide evidence of compliance with regulations	Loss of reputation and stakeholder confidence Fines/sanctions	Compliance Costs Reputation
Business		Business processes rely on file formats and storage media that are becoming obsolete	Data loss/corruption Disruption of business’s functions Increased costs	Business Continuity Costs
Business		Inability to produce reliable and authentic records necessary to pursue or defend legal claims	Undermines ability to reach resolution Unsatisfactory or expensive settlements	Authenticity Compliance Costs
Business		Loss of corporate memory	Unable to rely on past evidence to inform current decision-making Insufficient resources to support branding and marketing	Authenticity Business Continuity Corporate / Cultural Memory Reputation Revenue
Business		The archive team do not have the tools required for effective search and retrieval of digital holdings	Unable to provide access to information required to support business processes Loss of productivity/revenue	Business Continuity Costs Revenue
Business		Inability to reuse valuable information	Unable to provide access to information required to support business processes Loss of productivity/revenue Limits innovation Fall behind market/competitors	Business Continuity Costs Reputation Revenue
Business	Volume of data continues to grow without action being taken		Data loss/corruption Disruption of business’s functions Increased costs now and in the future Loss of productivity/revenue	Business Continuity Compliance Costs Reputation Security
Higher Education and Research	Unable to fully capture and represent current events for future generations		Incomplete historical record Future research flawed/unreliable/biased	Corporate / Cultural Memory Enabling Research
Higher Education and Research	Inability to access legal documentation, institutional history and decision-making precedents		Unable to rely on past evidence to inform current decision-making Unable to meet legal/regulatory requirements	Accountability Authenticity Business Continuity
Higher Education and Research	The hardware or software required to interpret, and present digital information is no longer available		Unable to provide access to information required to support organizational processes Disruption of organization’s functions Increased costs now and in the future	Business Continuity Costs Enabling Research Technology
Higher Education and Research	Research data not transferred to the relevant repository for preservation		Data loss Gaps in the cultural/scholarly record Research repeated unnecessarily	Accountability Costs Enabling Research Reputation
Higher Education and Research	Lack of vendor accountability		Unable to place trust in services provided Services not fit for purpose Poor customer service Unable to plan for succession	Accountability Business Continuity Costs
Higher Education and Research	No active preservation carried out on data		Expensive procedures required to access legacy data Lack of documentation	Costs Enabling Research
Higher Education and Research	Data from an experiment that cannot be repeated is not preserved		Data loss Gaps in the cultural/scholarly record Field of research is set back/compromised Loss of reputation	Enabling Research Reputation
Higher Education and Research	Data is inaccessible due to lack of preservation		Inability to answer crucial research questions Gaps in the cultural/scholarly record Field of research is set back/compromised Loss of scientific legacy and the associated research opportunities Research repeated unnecessarily Loss of potential opportunities for collaboration Loss of reputation	Costs Enabling Research Reputation Revenue
Higher Education and Research	Data is not preserved with sufficient context, identifiers and documentation		Unique scientific datasets unknown and potential unrecognised questions Field of research is set back/compromised	Enabling Research
Higher Education and Research	Data rendered usable through a lack of proactive use, updates, and checking		Inability to answer crucial research questions Gaps in the cultural/scholarly record Field of research is set back/compromised Loss of scientific legacy and the associated research opportunities Loss of potential opportunities for collaboration	Enabling Research Revenue
Higher Education and Research	Litigation from consumers if data made available is not reliable and trustworthy		Requirement to pay fines/settlements/compensation Gaps in the cultural/scholarly record Field of research is set back/compromised Loss of reputation	Authenticity Compliance Costs Reputation
Museums and Galleries	Storage conditions are inadequate for preservation		Data loss/corruption Disruption of organisation’s functions Confidence loss Damage to reputation	Business Continuity Corporate / Cultural Memory Enabling Research Reputation Technology
Libraries	Preservation not carried out in a timely manner		Data loss/corruption Unable to provide access to digital objects Loss of context/documentation Costly interventions require to restore access	Corporate / Cultural Memory Costs Enabling Research
Libraries	No active programme/processes aimed at acquiring digital objects/collections		Data generated by the cultural and creative industries will be lost or inaccessible Failure to protect the living national record Primary sources for future research cannot be found, interpreted or re-used Failure to meet organisational goals Loss of reputation Loss of funding	Business Continuity Compliance Corporate / Cultural Memory Enabling Research Reputation Revenue
Libraries	Organisation does not move important digital/digitized objects into a preservation system		Data loss/corruption Unable to provide access to digital objects Loss of context/documentation Loss of reputation Loss of funding	Accountability Corporate / Cultural Memory Enabling Research Reputation Revenue
Libraries	Do not adequately consider the preservation needs of complex digital objects, including new publication formats		Data generated by the cultural and creative industries will be lost or inaccessible Loss of context/documentation Loss of reputation Loss of funding	Corporate / Cultural Memory Reputation Revenue Technology
Museums and Galleries	Preservation processes do not adequately consider rendering and display.		Unable to correctly render files as originally intended Additional work required to address issues, including consultation with experts/the artist Loss of reputation Loss of funding	Authenticity Costs Reputation Revenue
Museums and Galleries	Digital objects/collections are not captured in a suitable preservation system		Digital objects are unusable and un-displayable Loss of context/documentation Loss of reputation Loss of funding	Authenticity Corporate / Cultural Memory Reputation Revenue
Museums and Galleries	Absence of appropriately skilled and invested people responsible for digital preservation		Incorrect/inadequate preservation Preservation does not occur Loss of ability to access/render digital objects Loss of context/documentation Loss of reputation Loss of funding	Authenticity Business Continuity Corporate / Cultural Memory Costs Reputation Revenue
Museums and Galleries	Absence of a documented workflow for the creation/acquisition and then maintenance of digital files		Incorrect/inadequate preservation Preservation does not occur Loss of ability to access/render digital objects Loss of context/documentation Loss of reputation Loss of funding	Authenticity Business Continuity Corporate / Cultural Memory Costs Reputation Revenue