Revenue

Organization type

Risk

Potential Consequences

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

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

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

Business

Existing storage systems do not protect records from unauthorized 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

Business

Loss of corporate memory

• Unable to rely on past evidence to inform current decision-making
• Insufficient resources to support branding and marketing

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

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

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

Libraries

No active program /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

Libraries

Organization 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

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

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

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

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

Organization Type

Digital Preservation can…

All organizations

capture potential by providing greater scope for innovation and reuse of data

All organizations

transmit opportunities to future generations by ensuring the right data is available to the right people at the right time in the right format, for as long as necessary

Higher Education and Research

provide opportunities for raising funds through the reuse of existing data

Higher Education and Research

generate income and new service models through the reuse of existing data

Higher Education and Research

increase the potential for the re-use of digital material though established IPR

Libraries

create greater scope for innovation and reuse by using cultural and creative data at scale

Libraries

maintain access to digital outputs of cultural and creative industries which are essential for innovation, research, development

Libraries

transmit opportunities to future generations by ensuring the right cultural and creative data is available to the right people at the right time in the right format, for as long as necessary

Museums and Galleries

create efficiencies in workflow and processes, as well as potentially creating income through data re-use