The Digital Continuity project
Information for suppliers
The National Archives is delivering a service for the public sector that will enable it to us its digital information for as long as it needs to, over time and through change.
Part of this service will be a Framework of tools and services to help organisations to manage digital continuity more effectively. This page will help suppliers to understand what we mean by digital continuity, and tells you about our procurement approach. You might also find it useful to check our background information, news and updates, events pages and supplier FAQs too. If you think you may offer appropriate tools and services, please look at our outline requirements.
Supplier briefing event 4 September 2009
On 4 September 2009, we held a briefing event for suppliers. We recommend that you visit our events page, where you can download presentations, a supplier briefing factsheet and a list of attending companies.
The Digital Continuity service
The Digital Continuity project is managed by The National Archives and funded by central government departments. We are developing a digital continuity service that can be used by the whole public sector. The service will be flexible, combining:
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Guidance, for example on how to undertake digital continuity risk assessments and plan for action, and on specific issues, such as how to ensure you maintain continuity during system migration.
- A Framework of commercially provided tools, services and consultancy that will help the public sector to understand and change its information assets and technical environment as necessary. The Framework will include a range of consultancy and other services to support the public sector.
Procurement
We aim to publish the Contract Notice via the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) in November 2009. We anticipate that successful suppliers will be able to make their tools and services available via the Framework from mid 2010. Individual customers will then be able to call off products and services as required.
A simple way to see when the Contract Notice has been published is to monitor the Buying Solutions' eSourcing Service.
Register your interest
If you are a provider of relevant technologies, products, services or consultancy we'd like to hear from you. We'd like to hear from suppliers who can:
- help organisations to understand their exposure to digital continuity risks and the extent to which they may have already been realised (examples are file identification, categorisation and classification, search and discovery, metadata extraction);
- support digital information management (examples are migration/conversion tools or services, database tools, retention schedule tools, emulation and visualisation);
- support the realisation of data/information management efficiencies leading to cost savings (examples are de-duplication, advanced storage, licence management).
These, of course, are just examples from our work to date. The Outline Requirements and Consultation document gives a more comprehensive overview of our current understanding of the capabillities of the market and considerations for the framework. Please note that the consultation period with suppliers ended on 14 September 2009, however interested suppliers may still find the information contained within the document useful.
If you believe you have capabilities that could help to address the digital continuity requirements, you can still register your interest. Please download and complete our supplier form and email it to DCSprocurement@nationalarchives.gov.uk
Benefits of the Framework approach
We are workng with Buying Solutions to procure a Framework agreement that the whole of the public sector can use to procure appropriate tools and services to address their specific digital continuity needs. On the Buying Solutions and OGC websites you will find everything you need to know about public sector procurement and Frameworks.
We want to make it easier for government and the wider public sector to access the technologies, professional services and consultancy that can help them to resolve digital continuity issues and mitigate digital continuity risks. By using the Framework, we are hoping that many organisations can off-set the costs of digital continuity action through efficiencies resulting from improved data and information management.
Specific benefits to suppliers include:• Easier access to the public sector market.
• Lower cost of sales through reduced tendering.
• Support from Buying Solutions.
• Streamlined and standardised processes.
• Consistent terms and conditions.
• Quicker access to market as OJEU requirements are already fulfilled.
As a Buying Solutions Framework, the Digital Continuity Framework will be available for use across both central government, and the wider public sector comprising central government, local government, health, education, emergency services, defence, utilities and not for profit sectors. It also extends to devolved administrations and the local government, health, education and emergency services in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Framework will also be available for use by any service provider acting on behalf of the above UK Public Sector Contracting Authorities.
Digital continuity: an overview
The digital age has brought opportunities to government and the public sector, but it has also created a significant challenge for those who have to manage and maintain information. That challenge is to achieve digital continuity; the ability to use digital information with confidence for as long as it is needed, over time and through change. Without action throughout the information management lifecycle, digital information could become unusable - a liability not an asset.
What is digital continuity?
Digital continuity is the ability to use information for as long as you need to, over time and through change.
Why the public sector needs digital continuity
The public sector needs digital continuity because it protects the information it needs to do business. This enables it to operate accountably, effectively and efficiently, protect its reputation, take informed decisions, avoid and save costs, and deliver better public services. As our reliance on digital information increases, the impact of continuity failure becomes greater.What digital continuity means in practice
In practice, digital continuity needs to be addressed as an integral part of good IT managemnt, change management and information management. Digital continuity needs collaboration between these profession because it requires information to be:
- Complete - everything you need, and its context, is there.
- Available - you can find what you need.
- Usable - able to be used in the way that your business needs it.
As this diagram shows, digital continuity (information that is complete, available and usable) can only be achieved when the public sector understands the business use it needs from its information, and ensures that its information assets and technical environment support that business use.
Each of these three components can move out of alignment particularly during change and over time - and that's when continuity can be lost.
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