Costs - Digital Preservation Coalition

Any factor relating to organizational expenditure or financial penalties.

What are the Risks of not preserving digital materials?

Organization Type	Risk	Potential Consequences
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
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
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
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
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Data loss/corruption Unable to provide access to digital objects High cost of replacing/extracting data from outdated systems
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
Business	Inability to provide evidence of compliance with regulations	Loss of reputation and stakeholder confidence Fines/sanctions
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	Inability to produce reliable and authentic records necessary to pursue or defend legal claims	Undermines ability to reach resolution Unsatisfactory or expensive settlements
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	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	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
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
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
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
Higher Education and Research	No active preservation carried out on data	Expensive procedures required to access legacy data Lack of documentation
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
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
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
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
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
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

What Opportunities do preserved digital materials create?

Organization Type	Digital Preservation can…
All organizations	protect investment by maintaining clear audit trails
All organizations	provide efficiencies of scale through shared services, resources and systems
All organizations	provide cost efficiencies through planned disposal and deletion which results in reduced storage requirements
All organizations	provide cost and operational efficiencies by allowing the consolidation of legacy systems
All organizations	provide cost efficiencies through the greater automation of processes
Business	protect against financial losses by enabling the provision of evidence for legal and regulatory cases
Business	provide cost efficiencies through planned disposal and deletion according to specified retention schedules, which results in reduced storage requirements
Higher Education and Research	demonstrate, to funders, a commitment to the sustainability of their investment and the cultural record
Higher Education and Research	create a pathway for smaller organizations to take advantage of enterprise level infrastructure through shared or cloud services
Higher Education and Research	reduce duplication of infrastructure and effort by sharing services, systems and storage with other institutions
Higher Education and Research	demonstrate long term vision and planning
Higher Education and Research	save on storage costs by enabling documented appraisal, disposal and deletion procedures
Higher Education and Research	avoid wasted expenditure and reduce long-term operational costs by considering access and reuse at the stage of data generation, creation and system design.
Higher Education and Research	enable informed and planned disposal as well as retention which mitigates the continuous increase in the volume of time-series data, as well as the cost of managing it
Higher Education and Research	remove the need for expensive and time-consuming data rescue and digital archaeology work on legacy data through appropriate planning and initial investment
Museums and Galleries	prevent interruptions to service and loss of earnings through resilient processes and sustained access to information which enable hardware and software updates, upgrades, obsolescence, failures and stoppages
Museums and Galleries	cut the costs of viewing rooms open to the public by moving some collections into deep storage