Current Trends in Digital Preservation Storage - Results from the 2023 NDSA Storage Survey
Alan Munshower Amy Allen Danielle Taylor Este Pope Krista Oldham Max Prud'homme
Providing storage as part of the digital preservation program is a key element to safeguard the ever-increasing volume of digital holdings. Organizations are faced with many challenges managing the technical infrastructure needed for their digital preservation storage. The National Digital Stewardship Alliance (NDSA) Storage Survey Working Group conducted a survey in 2023 to gain an understanding of how organizations around the world manage digital preservation storage. Responses were received from 14 countries. The goal of this longitudinal study was to gather information on how new technologies and standards have impacted preservation storage and to compare results to the previous data collected in 2011, 2013, and 2019.
The survey working group reviewed questions from the previous three surveys, retaining as many questions as feasible while removing or revising those that were no longer pertinent and adding questions on current concerns, including environmental impact. The questions were thematically grouped in five sections: General Storage Environments; Geographically Distributed Copies; Preservation Storage Requirements and Services; Preservation Planning and Organizational Commitment; and Demographics.
The poster will share current trends based on key findings from the survey, including a shift away from collaborative storage models compared to previous surveys, an increase in the use of commercial cloud storage, and a greater acceptance of the use of cloud storage. The full report features a breakdown of specific cloud storage services used by institution type, statistics on self-hosting vs. outsourcing when managing digital preservation and the types of services performed, as well as information on amounts of digital storage used and plans for meeting future needs. New to the 2023 survey are questions about environmental impact, where respondents gave practical suggestions to lessen environmental impact while collections continue to grow. 
Anyone working with digital content inevitably confronts the challenge of escalating storage demands, which frequently surpass available resources.  Examining prevailing trends and learning others’ approaches to digital preservation storage can provide valuable insight, tangible examples, and facilitate the identification of shared goals and objectives, aiding in advocacy efforts.
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