Case Study: Aston University achieves cost-effective long-term digital data archiving with Arkivum

Aston University implements Arkivum/100 to deliver a campus-wide and cost-effective digital data archiving service

Aston University, a leading UK research-led university with 550+ academics and researchers across more than 40 schools and research groups, needed a more cost-effective way to manage rapidly growing volumes of research data. With new funder-mandated guidelines requiring long-term access and sharing of data, the university wanted a campus-wide archiving service that could support 10+ year retention and centralized management. Arkivum, using Arkivum/100, was selected to address these needs.

Arkivum implemented a Janet-connected archive storage solution with a 12TB on-site gateway appliance and a centrally managed policy framework tailored to different research groups’ requirements. The system automated ingestion, created three secure copies of each data file, and allowed Aston University IT to run the service largely unattended, reducing resource requirements and costs. Aston committed to a 10-year archiving service, and the solution also opened the door for other departments such as Procurement and Finance to use the same assured long-term archiving service.

Aston University

Trevor Bayliss

IT Technical Director