Offline digital archiving is a great solution for the long-term archiving of minimally used data on removable data storage media.

For the offline archiving service, we will create an account in the archive service centre and also a register of archived data, which includes metadata about the archived data. And finally, the data loaded to the system is written on offline storage devices (e.g. a LTO tape), and the data is assigned a digital address by the tape library.

To access the data, the customer must submit a request through the information system, and the required storage medium will be retrieved from the archive and uploaded to the online archive. The customer can then open and download the data through the user interface, whereas the document will be kept in the online archive for at least 6 months for possible repeat access.

The advantage of offline archiving over online archiving is the lower cost of the service. The cost is reduced by using a less expensive array while providing a search engine and catalogue system similar to the online archive. The primary shortcoming of offline archiving is the lack of immediate access to most data.

The service consists of a basic package and additional services.

The basic package includes:

• Initial consultation with a digital archiving consultant to create the archive topography and determine the archive administration procedures;
• Creation of an account in the Infore Enterprise Archive (IEA) application, in the digital repository of the archive and in the tape library;
• Determination of the administrator of the application;
• Provision of training for the administrator in digital archiving theory and in the use of the IEA application;
• Implementation of the request system.

Additional services:

• Set-up of the archive topography in the IEA system by an Infore consultant;
• Creation of extra users;
• Definition of standard queries and reports;
• Interfacing the customer’s information system with the archive (software development);
• Bulk import of data;
• Digitisation of paper documents (in cooperation with partners);
• Archiving of paper documents in physical archives (in cooperation with partners in the Baltic region);
• Creation and set-up of scanning solutions (in cooperation with partners);
• Data quality inspection;
• Data conversion in the offline repository;
• Data retrieval from the offline repository.