With the growing availability of commercial cloud storage options like AWS S3, Google Cloud, and Azure, institutions might wonder: Why not just store digital content directly with these providers? The answer lies in the difference between mere storage and true digital preservation.

Commercial cloud storage provides raw space but lacks the necessary layers of preservation expertise, integrity monitoring, and community-driven governance that ensure long-term accessibility and trustworthiness. APTrust is more than just a storage service; it is a digital preservation consortium dedicated to ensuring the longevity and integrity of scholarly, cultural, and institutional assets.

APTrust vs. DIY Cloud Storage: Addressing Misconceptions

Many assume that managing their cloud storage offers more control and lower costs. However, the hidden complexities of long-term digital preservation—including fixity checking, redundancy, metadata management, and disaster recovery—introduce unforeseen operational burdens. Institutions that attempt to build their preservation workflows often struggle with the cost, technical expertise, and time investment required to ensure proper preservation.

By choosing APTrust, members gain secure, redundant cloud storage and the benefit of a preservation-focused organization with built-in expertise, automated workflows, and a robust support network.

More Than Just Storage: The Value of a Membership Organization

APTrust is a membership-driven organization where institutions actively share knowledge and collaborate on digital preservation challenges. Unlike commercial providers, APTrust fosters a network where members can learn from one another, exchange good practices, and contribute to the evolution of preservation standards.

For Virginia Tech, the flexibility to develop custom workflows tailored to an institution’s diverse needs—while maintaining independent operation—has been invaluable. We have several departments actively using or developing integration for APTrust workflows with varying priorities and resources, and where a single workflow would be challenging, we are able to optimize the use of APTrust for our stakeholders.

~ Alex Kinnaman, Assistant Director, Digital Libraries & Preservation, Virginia Tech

Professional Growth Opportunities

APTrust is a consortium driven by an engaged membership. As such, faculty and staff of member institutions have opportunities to serve on governance committees, interest groups, and working groups. This small, active professional network has resulted in several fruitful collaborations, which have made valuable contributions to the fields of digital preservation, digitization, and archives. Whether serving on committees, engaging in technical discussions, or shaping the organization's strategic direction, members gain valuable professional development experiences.

Cloud Maturity: Lessons Learned, Time Saved

Cloud-Native Expertise That Evolves With the Landscape

APTrust has years of experience managing digital preservation in the cloud, continuously refining its approach to keep pace with evolving technologies and best practices. Because of our community-driven consortial model, APTrust leverages the collective knowledge of all member institutions to mitigate risks. This avoids vendor lock-in and allows us to collectively face regulatory changes and shifting infrastructure costs.

Optimized Cost Management (FinOps)

Beyond basic storage costs, the actual cost of cloud storage includes data transfer fees, container services, DevOps, preservation management tools, and staffing. A significant expense often comes from data egress—accessing and moving data—which can significantly exceed the cost of simply storing it. Many cost calculators underestimate these expenses, leading to unexpected charges, especially for institutions that regularly access their data for integrity checks or preservation activities. APTrust’s economies of scale help provide predictable costs and reduce financial surprises.

Built-in Technical Expertise and Stability

An Extension of Your Team

Rather than requiring each institution to build and maintain its own preservation infrastructure—or hire a dedicated cloud team—APTrust is an extension of member teams. Our dedicated staff continuously monitors data integrity, manages preservation workflows, and provides technical expertise, reducing the need for institutions to invest in specialized cloud architects, developers, and support staff. Additionally, our community-driven model allows members to draw on the collective expertise of APTrust’s network, further easing the burden of managing complex preservation infrastructure.

Proven Track Record of Trust and Reliability

With over a decade of operation, APTrust has maintained an impeccable record of zero data loss. Disaster recovery events have demonstrated the system's resilience, providing members with confidence that their materials are safe, recoverable, and accessible for the long term. Some of APTrust’s longest-standing members, including the University of Maryland, University of Michigan, University of Miami, and North Carolina State University, have collectively deposited over 421 TB of digital content—further underscoring the trust institutions place in APTrust’s preservation services. 

Beyond technical reliability, APTrust’s financial and operational model is designed for sustainability. Even in the unlikely event of a funding disruption, members would have ten months to retrieve their data, ensuring continuity and preventing sudden loss. In a landscape where some preservation consortia and even private-sector tech companies have struggled to endure, APTrust provides a level of stability that institutions can depend on.

Seamless Preservation Integration

APTrust provides a plug-and-play preservation strategy that integrates with existing institutional repositories and workflows. Rather than reinventing the wheel, members can incorporate APTrust into their existing digital preservation efforts with minimal disruption.

Powerful Tools for Seamless Integration

Quick and Easy Onboarding with DART

APTrust’s Digital Archive Resource Tool (DART) simplifies preparing and depositing content. DART allows users to package and submit preservation-ready files without requiring programming expertise, making onboarding straightforward even for non-technical staff.

Flexible Automation and Workflow Integration

For institutions with more complex preservation needs, APTrust provides Partner Tools, a command-line utility that supports scripting and automation. This enables institutions to seamlessly integrate APTrust deposits into their existing workflows, reducing manual effort and improving efficiency.

APTrust Registry and Member API

APTrust’s Registry offers full transparency into stored content, allowing members to track, report, and audit their deposits. Additionally, the Member API enables institutions to programmatically interact with APTrust services, directly integrating with local systems.

Standards-Based, Trusted Digital Repository

APTrust follows the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) reference model and aligns with ISO 16363 for Trusted Digital Repositories. These standards ensure that APTrust meets rigorous digital preservation, transparency, and sustainability criteria.

Cost Efficiency Through Shared Infrastructure

Economies of Scale Across the Membership

Because APTrust is a consortium, infrastructure costs are distributed among members, reducing the financial burden on any institution. By sharing the costs of critical components like database services, caching layers, and domain management, members gain access to enterprise-level infrastructure at a fraction of the price.

Maximizing Value Through Collective Buying Power

APTrust negotiates cloud storage costs strategically, leveraging reserved instances and savings plans to reinvest savings into the community. This approach minimizes the risk of price volatility while ensuring sustainable cost management.

The True Cost of “Going It Alone”

Beyond Storage: The Hidden Operational Burdens

Simply purchasing cloud storage does not address critical preservation needs such as:

• Fixity checking and corruption detection
• Redundancy across geographically distinct locations
• Security and access management
• Disaster recovery planning
• Independence of copies

APTrust handles these concerns seamlessly, allowing institutions to focus on their core missions rather than technical maintenance.

Importantly, long-term digital preservation is not just about technology but shared stewardship. As highlighted in our blog post on embracing the shared responsibility model in digital preservation, APTrust embodies this collaborative approach. Preservation is not the burden of a single institution but a partnership where members, infrastructure, and expertise collectively ensure success. This model reduces risk while strengthening resilience.

Risk Mitigation and Sustainability

A common misconception about commercial cloud providers is that their services inherently guarantee long-term data preservation. While they offer security and high availability, their primary focus is infrastructure, not ensuring that digital content remains usable, meaningful, and contextually significant over time.

Digital preservation requires more than storage. It demands a strategic approach that accounts for evolving formats, metadata integrity, and governance beyond commercial priorities. APTrust’s member-driven model ensures preservation remains at the forefront, independent of market shifts, business models, or vendor policies. By prioritizing risk mitigation and sustainability, APTrust provides a reliable foundation for long-term digital stewardship.

Values That Align with Mission-Driven Organizations

APTrust is more than just a digital preservation service. It is a community-driven, mission-aligned initiative dedicated to preserving scholarship and cultural heritage for the long term. Unlike commercial cloud providers, which prioritize shareholder returns and profit-driven scalability, APTrust and the Digital Preservation Services Collaborative are guided by shared values that reflect the priorities of research, academic, and cultural institutions.

Our commitment to collaboration ensures that our members are not merely customers but active participants in shaping the direction of our services. Through interest groups, working groups, and open-source development, we foster an environment where institutions contribute knowledge and benefit from collective expertise. APTrust is also committed to openness and transparency. Our governance, policies, and preservation practices are fully documented and openly shared, ensuring that institutions retain complete control over their digital assets.

By choosing APTrust, institutions are not just selecting a service provider; they are joining a movement dedicated to the long-term preservation of knowledge and cultural history.

Conclusion: Investing in APTrust—More Than Just Storage

APTrust is more than a cloud storage provider; it is a strategic investment in the future of digital preservation. APTrust offers a sustainable and trusted solution for institutions committed to long-term digital stewardship through its community-driven model, cost efficiencies, technical expertise, and standards-based approach.

When considering whether to add a community-driven preservation solution to your digital preservation strategy or go it alone with a cloud provider, it is crucial to consider the total cost of ownership. Not just the cost of raw storage but also the expertise, infrastructure, and security that ensure content remains accessible for generations.

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