Contents:
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Total cost of preservation
- 3. Predictive reliability
- Appendix A: Prior work
- Appendix B: Power series
- Appendix C: Pay-as-you-go price model
- Appendix D: Discount factor
- Appendix E: Paid-up price model
- References
This white paper presents two cost models that could be used to determine the “Total Cost of Preservation (TCP)”. It begins by introducing a range of cost components that make up digital preservation services. After presenting the analysis assumptions, it goes on to identify categories of economic costs associated with the long-term preservation of digital assets. The analysis results in two price models that can be customized to local situations, the pay-as-you-go model and the paid-up model. It concludes with a section on the reliability of the models and suggestions on how some possibly problematic assumptions could be ameliorated over time.
These two detailed cost models are not only of interest to digital preservation service providers but also for archives simply trying to get a handle on the costs associated with managing the long-term preservation of digital assets in a responsible way. It includes not only system related costs but costs associated with particular preservation processes. The appendices have detailed cost model equations and the reference list presents a valuable list of further reading on preservation cost analysis. It is interesting for management responsible for budgeting and it offers an nice breakdown of the environment within which preservation processes occur, linking costs to those processes.