Digital information comes in myriad forms and formats, so how can we make sure that today's data is not lost forever in inaccessible legacy forms? An EU-funded project has developed a framework that ensures we will always be able to use data, however and wherever it is saved and stored.
A framework for development
The EU-funded SHAMAN (1) project has developed a framework that makes 'digital preservation' (DP) a reality for virtually any data format. People will be able to store and archive digital objects and information in confidence, knowing that they will be fully accessible and useable in the future, whatever the future brings.
Beyond the cloud
The architecture also goes beyond simple cloud storage solutions. As Mr Riestra explains, 'the most important difference is the time frame: storage in the cloud is mainly for short term, while digital preservation is related to issues such as multiple migrations over time, hardware and mainly software obsolescence.'
Prototype applications
The SHAMAN project produced three prototype applications, designed to demonstrate the validity of the framework and to showcase some exemplary tools developed using the reference architecture.
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