An Abingdon-based company has been awarded one of the UK’s most prestigious business awards for their collaboration with a public sector organization.
Tessella, a science technology and consulting company, worked with The National Archives to develop a unique system for preserving digital information, which has been adopted by libraries and organizations around the world.
The public-private partnership received a Queen’s Award for Enterprise at St Catherine’s College on Thursday for their product, The Safety Deposit Box, which is able to store digital information over long periods of time, despite changes in technology.
The first version of Safety Deposit box came out in 2003 and the upgraded fourth version is now used by governments in seven countries. The awards recognise outstanding achievement by UK businesses in the categories of innovation, international trade and sustainable development and are made annually on the Queen’s birthday.
The Lord Lieutenant for Oxford, Tim Stevenson OBE, who presented the chalice awards on behalf of the Queen, said: “It is a real privilege for me as Lord Lieutenant of Oxford to present this double award. I am extremely proud to do so particularly because it’s unique that we are today presenting a double award to a private sector company and a public sector company. This is a special example of a partnership that has done particularly well.”
Tessella were commissioned by The National Archives to create a solution to the problem of digital information management. Oliver Morley, chief executive of The National Archives, said: “Preserving digital records is one of the biggest challenges facing archives in the 21st century. Unlike paper records, which can last for hundreds of years under the right conditions, digital records are extremely vulnerable to changing technology.”
The SDB allows digital information such as office documents, scanned material, emails, audiovisual material, databases, websites, scientific data and eJournals to be accessed easily at any time even when the technology with which they were created becomes obsolete.
Kevin Gell, managing director at Tessella said: “I feel honoured that Tessella had been recognized with such a prestigious award and I should like to pay tribute to Tessella’s staff for their innovation and commitment over an extended period of time. This award will strengthen our resolve to see Tessella’s digital preservation technologies adopted on a global basis.”
