FIAT/IFTA Guide to Compose Tendering Specifications for the Outsourced Migration of Audiovisual Content
Audiovisual archives worldwide are in the process of migrating their audio and video materials to large scale file based storage systems. Analogue material is digitized and digital material is converted into files when necessary and transferred to a large-scale storage infrastructure.
If these processes are carried out by an external partner, it is crucial that the assignment is properly described and that this partner is selected according to a clear, transparent and effective procedure. The ‘Guide to Compose Tendering Specifications for the Outsourced Migration of Audiovisual Content’, abbreviated to Outsourced Migration Guide, helps any organization planning to carry out a migration project and involve a third party to execute the actual migration work and possible other tasks surrounding it, such as transport, reporting, quality control etc.
The guide is split up in three documents:
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- The Introduction provides a general description answering a few key questions about the Guide as a whole.
- The Overview Document provides detail on the tendering procedure itself. Although legal constraints differ from country to country, there are some elements independent of these constraints which should not be overlooked.
- The Background Document is the core document which describes the organisational and technical aspects of the migration project itself
This guide is written by the FIAT/IFTA Preservation and Migration Commission (PMC), aiming to lists the key elements which should be specified and agreed upon with an external service provider before the start of the project, in order to achieve a migration process which aligns with international preservation standards as well as with the scope, timing and budget of the tendering organisation.
These documents work as a step-by-step guide to write a tender. As every project is different, it is not necessary to copy every step completely. The tenderer is free to add any other aspect fitting with their needs. The PMC believes that following this guide will result in a comprehensive specifications statement for projects that follow a regular, typical migration process path.
FIAT/IFTA would like to stress that this guide is not intended to influence or sway an organisation as to whether or not it should call upon the services of an external company. Such decisions are entirely a matter for each organisation having regard to their own particular circumstances.
The PMC welcomes feedback on these documents via pmc@fiatifta.org.
