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I've got a family member who is closing a small business and wants to preserve her computer's business records and files in a safe but access-convenient manner. They will be a mix of MS Word and Excel files, QuickBook file, image files, pdf files, etc. She also wants to save some email files, recognizing they may or may not be readable at some point in the future. She'll probably end up making duplicates and placing one copy in a safe deposit box.
My first thought was CD-R's. Assuming she replaces her computer some time down the road, are her chances good that the CD-R can still be read? Any other downsides to CD's? Flash drives would be convenient but I don't understand the technology well enough to know if that's a good or bad choice. Any shelf-life issues that make that a bad choice? An external USB drive is also a possibility - good choice/bad choice?
I'd appreciate any thoughts and recommendations. Thanks!
I'd skip CDs and a USB or external drive. Both are portable and easy to store in a safe deposit box (Talk with your bank about what happens if the owner passes away - it can be a bad deal) and last a long time. If there is a lot of data CDs might be bulky. In that case I'd use DVD or Blu ray if that's the format she prefers.
Shelf life for drives is excellent, especially if you write the data to it, disconnect it and place it in the box. Same goes for USB. I have a USB drive I've carried for, I think, 5 years in my front pocket. It's been through the washer and dryer once and it still works flawlessly (YMMV ).
If you go with the drive or USB then I recommend some silica to keep the moisture content low in the box.
If access to email formats in the future is a concern they can be copy/pasted into a word processor then saved as a file. Most word processors will save as a simple text file. Keeping the original email file (As in the ones Outlook creates) and the text document file as a backup would cover the easily readable content and possible need for an original at some point.
Make a note of the email program used to create them so anyone that might need to access those files in the future has a fighting chance.
I reread your OP and you might consider a copy of the programs used to create the originals. Word, Excel, QB, etc, with the key codes, passwords and any other info used to create the original files. Just in case...
For tax purposes we keep ours 10 years, which is considerably longer than required by law, but as Mrs. Tek (Ex IRS employee) says "As long as they are pertinent to the tax returns." There may other factors for the OP, but 10 years should suffice.
My first thought was CD-R's. Assuming she replaces her computer some time down the road, are her chances good that the CD-R can still be read? Any other downsides to CD's?
With CD's literally burn the data into a chemical. That chemical is going to break down at some point in time. When depends on a lot of factors like the quality of the disc, your burner or even the software. It could fail tomorrow or it could fail 20 years from now but it will fail. It's suitable alternative backup but make sure it's not the only one, use flash or an external drive.
As far as obsolescence I think the biggest issue is going to be the connectors. I have a nearly new pioneer burner here but it only has IDE connection. My new computer has no IDE connection.
Hmmm.... Thanks for all the excellent feedback. A USB flash drive was my first choice primarily for convenience, but obsolescence never occurred to me. I'm sure I said the same thing 25(?) years ago about floppy drives. My guess is these records will rarely or ever be accessed, but she will probably hold on to 'em until she dies, "just in case".
Tek_Freek - thanks for the excellent suggestions regarding email conversion to text, as well as saving the programs. Would never have occurred to us, yet perhaps useless without 'em. Thanks.
USB isn't going anywhere soon. The latest version is capable of 10Gb/s which is a lot, what the limit is I don't know. If starts to die out transfer to the latest and greatest device.
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Thanks for all the excellent feedback. A USB flash drive was my first choice primarily for convenience, but obsolescence never occurred to me. I'm sure I said the same thing 25(?) years ago about floppy drives. 
My guess is these records will rarely or ever be accessed, but she will probably hold on to 'em until she dies, "just in case". 
