Source: Adobe.

Shannon Jenkins, National Archives to receive digital preservation system under new deal, The Mandarin, 24 August 2020

The National Archives of Australia has signed a three-year contract which will allow it to better secure federal government records in a digital format.

Under the deal with software company Preservica, the commonwealth’s digital records would be “safely stored” using a specialist digital preservation system.

The software would also provide secure access, as well as automatically update files to “future-friendly formats”, the agency said.

“Preservica will ensure digital records are actively preserved and easily accessible, bringing us closer to achieving our vision of being a world-leading archive in this digital age.”

The software is set to form a critical component of the Integrated Archival Management System that is currently being built by the National Archives, according to chief information officer Yaso Arumugam.

“Working with a market leader in preservation software gives us an exciting opportunity to adapt contemporary archival practices to collect, preserve and provide access to these records,” she said.

The National Archives preserves records from across Australia’s 187 federal agencies, and is working to integrate Preservica with current systems and migrate digital records.

Earlier this year, Fricker told Mandarin Premium that records made during the COVID-19 pandemic would help public servants respond to crises of the future, and highlighted the danger of “data obsolescence”.