A six-to-ten-week internal pilot-readiness calendar is a possible planning target when owners and source records are available, not a typical market lead time. The stages above total roughly 24–61 person-days across several functions, which can overlap; external counsel, contributor remediation and buyer procurement can extend the calendar substantially. Do not translate these estimates into a deadline commitment without an archive assessment.
Use two approvals. First fund inventory, demand qualification and a legal triage with a clear ceiling. Then approve pilot preparation only after reviewing the evidence and a quote. Buy full production capacity after the pilot and agreement establish what must be delivered.
Calculate costs bottom-up: internal hours × your loaded rates; legal scope × quoted fees; preparation units × quoted rates; plus contributor payments, hosting, updates and a separately stated contingency. Obtain written quotes rather than reusing the unvalidated market ranges in the source context. The illustrated $42,000 in the cash model is not the recommended budget for your archive.