The tool, which is called Preservation, can be used to secure any digital asset, such as special collections, electronic records management and research data.

Preservation keeps multiple copies of selected data, automatically converts data in old formats to newer ones and also checks to ensure data has not been tampered with.

Jisc said that Preservation also preserves data and computer code underpinning research, allowing other researchers to reproduce and validate results.

Liz Bal, director of open research services at Jisc, said: “Short-term, file-saving solutions and one-time deposit files can usually make digital assets findable, but their usability will deteriorate over time when new software evolves, and formats are no longer compatible.

“Our Preservation system is designed for a wide range of use cases over and beyond research and will help universities to futureproof the use of information even beyond the lifetime of existing systems and formats.”