Last week, a group of our DPC Supporters convened for a rich panel discussion on 'Pre‑procurement: What you need to know before you buy'. Through a series of quick-fire lightning talks, open discussion and questions from the digital preservation community, a set of clear themes emerged which offer invaluable guidance for any organisation approaching its next procurement exercise.
We are hugely grateful to Rob Buckton from Arkivum, Justin Simpson from Artefactual, Steffen Hellmold from Cerabyte, Daniel Greenberg from Clarivate, Frederik Rosseel from Docbyte, Chanler Cox and Miguel Blanco from Libnova, John Mackey from Max Communications and Nathan Voogt from Preservica for sharing their insights with the DPC community through this event.
Here are our key takeaways from the discussion:
1. Start early, and start with openness
One message repeated by almost every speaker, and it was: successful procurement starts long before the RFP is written.
Early conversations with vendors help organisations articulate their needs, understand what is possible, refine assumptions and avoid ‘blind RFPs’ that limit insight and reduce the quality of responses. These early engagements aren’t sales pitches; our DPC Supporters view them as collaborative exercises in learning which help both sides explore fitness for purpose, uncover risks and opportunities, and build the rapport that long‑term preservation relationships depend on.
2. Focus on outcomes
Many speakers highlighted the danger of procurement processes driven solely by large, generic checklists. While functional requirements certainly matter, a purely feature‑led approach can limit your view of the bigger picture, and result in costly consequences down the line.
Each of our DPC Supporters agreed it was important to have clarity on:
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The problem you are trying to solve
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The outcomes you need to achieve
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The context in which you operate
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The constraints and enablers within your institution
An outcome‑based approach invites creativity from vendors, encourages innovation and ensures you get a solution that works for your context.
3. Digital preservation is a relay
A particularly powerful conceptual reminder came from the idea that digital preservation is not about building an archive that lasts forever, but about ensuring the baton can be passed safely from system to system, team to team and generation to generation. In this ‘relay’ model, the DPC Supporters encouraged us to remember that:
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Every system will eventually be replaced
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Every vendor will one day change, sell, merge or retire
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And the key to success lies in how your data survives those transitions
Therefore, you are not just thinking about the perfect platform you are procuring today, you should also make choices that maximise future flexibility and resilience. Which leads us on to…
4. Open standards and exit strategies are essential
Perhaps the strongest shared theme across all speakers was the crucial importance of openness at all levels including standards, formats, interfaces, conversations and culture. The DPC Supporters encouraged us to look for:
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Open, documented, preservation-focused formats
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Standardised AIP structures (Bag It, METS, PREMIS, e‑ARK, OCFL and more)
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Well‑supported APIs that mirror the full functionality of the platform
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Clear, demonstrated export pathways
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Transparency about how data can be moved, when and in what form
Most of all, the DPC Supporters urged organisations to take exit strategy seriously from day one. Not as an afterthought, not as a footnote and not as an uncomfortable question, but as a central design principle.
5. Internal alignment is key
Several of our speakers emphasised the point that procurement success begins at home. Before speaking to vendors, organisations should work to achieve internal clarity around:
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Strategic goals and priorities
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Institutional resourcing and expertise
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Appetite for automation vs. hands‑on preservation activity
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The future architecture of the digital ecosystem
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Who will own digital preservation after procurement
Digital preservation is not simply a technology purchase; it is an organisational change initiative. We were also reminded that processes will likely change as a result of a new system, and not to remain too wedded to what is already in place. The stronger the internal alignment, the better the chance of process adoption and longer-term outcomes.
6. Forecasting growth, cost modelling and avoiding surprises
Our DPC Supporters also explored the practical realities of planning for long-term preservation.
Recommendations included:
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Model both best‑ and worst‑case data growth (it is almost always higher than expected)
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Understand storage tiers and access needs (not all data needs to live on “hot” storage all the time)
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Seek transparent, fixed pricing, not pricing surprises
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Watch for egress fees, seat‑based licensing and hidden service charges
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Ask vendors to cost and demonstrate long‑term migration scenarios
An informed, open conversation about cost models early on helps avoid painful lessons later.
In conclusion
Across all the advice, examples and stories, one message stood out
The best procurement outcomes come from organisations that stay open to dialogue, to learning and to new ideas.
This openness helps ensure digital preservation systems are not only fit for today’s needs but resilient to any future uncertainties. As the DPC community continues to grow and share expertise, we hope these insights support members at every stage of their procurement journey.
Thank you to all our supporters for their candour, their expertise and their generosity in sharing what they’ve learned. And thank you to everyone who joined us live — your questions and reflections made this event rich and impactful for us all.
This event series was part of the DPC Supporter Program, which enables digital preservation service and solution providers around the world to access the expert network of the Coalition’s membership through focused activities as well as the DPC’s broader program of events. The DPC is an international charitable foundation which supports digital preservation, helping its members around the world to deliver resilient long-term access to digital content and services through community engagement, targeted advocacy work, training and workforce development, capacity building, good practice and standards, and through good management and governance. Its vision is a secure digital legacy.
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