Tender for Spectra-Certified Data Tapes

The British Film Institute seeks tenders for the supply of Spectra-certified data tapes.The BFI and its strategic partners are responsible for the preservation and accessibility of a significant share of the UK’s film heritage. The film collections encompass the entire history of film production and include examples of an extremely wide range of formats and systems, which are being copied onto modern digital media as part of our mass migration strategy. The BFI also currently has a responsibility to record and archive sixteen channels of UK television output. The BFI, therefore, has an ongoing requirement for certified data tape stock and it wishes to establish a four-year framework agreement with a reseller or a number of resellers to fulfil that requirement.The BFI’s Digital Preservation Infrastructure has a dual data library system, which incorporates separate, automated LTO (Linear Tape Open) and IBM TS (Tape Storage) data tape robots. Therefore, both LTO and IBM sets of stock are required to provide secure and resilient long-term data preservation.Spectra-certified stock is required to fulfil the performance and quality criteria essential to the very stringent requirements of the BFI National Archive digital preservation system.Current BFI’s requirements are:• LTO-8 (aiming to move to LTO-9 within the next year); and• IBM 3592 JE.The framework agreement is envisaged to be with a number of suppliers and the duration is four years. The estimated value for the duration of the agreement is up to £450,000.Full details are set out in the ITT.Closing date for receipt of tenders: 12:00 noon on 12 July 2022