Managing Digital Continuity

All businesses and public sector organizations need to ensure the survival of critical digital information, some of which may be needed for many years, throughout its lifetime. It is increasingly clear that, without a more active programme of management, much of it will not survive. There are numerous threats to it other than the obvious one of obsolescence: a failure to maintain a link between metadata and the underlying information; a risk of not migrating material when systems change or when organizations are restructured; or simple neglect. There is little point in protecting vital data against external attack or loss if it is to decay and become unreadable through mismanagement, and digital continuity is increasingly being seen as crucial to IT security. However, ensuring the survival of information involves a financial commitment and for that reason it needs to be selective and carefully managed. Unlike most other professional literature, this timely new book will focus more on the management and cultural issues rather than the technical ones.

With contributions from members of the Digital Continuity team at The National Archives, currently leading a cross-government project to ensure the long-term survival of critical government information, it will address the key topics of: why digital continuity is important; managing and assessing risk; making a business case; selling the concept to stakeholders; standards and guidance; technology issues; digital continuity and information security; and, what about websites. This authoritative text will be vital reading for all records managers and information managers with responsibility for digital preservation who are concerned about meeting the long-term needs of their organizations. It will also be of great interest to the information assurance and IT security communities.