We have the expertise and tools to extract and assess your data securely and safely, enabling you to plan for its future management with confidence.
You may be seeking to understand a new digital acquisition or check the integrity of an existing collection. We can find out whether the data is accessible, usable and stable, and advise on next steps.
Industry-standard data inventory facilities
Our suite of industry-standard technologies includes forensic workstations and write blockers. These enable us to access your material without compromising data integrity.
Our services include:
- data extraction: retrieving the data and moving it to a new location
- verification: to find out if the data is stable and functional
- fixity checking: to assess whether the data has changed over time
- file format analysis: to see if the data is accessible and can be rendered correctly
- production of a verifiable manifest detailing file types and data size
Expert advice and follow-up
To support your next steps, we can provide:
- inventory documentation in a format that’s compatible with your organisation’s collection documentation
- details of any immediate data issues and advice on how to address them
- an action plan for the care of your digital assets in the short, medium and long term
- advice on skills development to support future digital preservation activities
Keeping your data secure
We take the security and integrity of your data as seriously as you do:
- we use secure technologies
- we’ll work with you to understand the security and data protocols that apply to your collection
- we’ll explore what’s feasible logistically, for example on-site options
- GDPR compliance is built into all our practices
- we are trained and practised in object handling
Contact us
Get in touch to discuss your data inventory project. Email digitalpreservation@soton.ac.uk.