Storage managers around the world need to securely store and protect data for the long-term and they are selecting LTO tape technology to handle the job as evidenced by a recent shipment report highlighting a record setting achievement. In this BlogBytes article we will review the LTO tape capacity shipment results and discuss a new report by INSIC, the Information Storage Industry Consortium, that provides key insights about the storage marketplace highlighting the role that tape storage plays in this space. Read on for the details!
LTO TAPE CAPACITY SHIPMENT RECORD!
A recent press release by The LTO Program Technology Provider Companies (TPCs), Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company, International Business Machines Corporation and Quantum Corporation highlights a record setting LTO tape capacity shipment for 2023. The press release states that, “The [shipment] report reveals 152.9 Exabytes (EB) of total tape capacity (compressed) shipped in 2023, with a growth of 3.14% over 2022, driven in part by rapid data generation and the increased infrastructure requirements of hyperscalers and enterprises.”
As quoted in the press release, G. Kyle Fitze, Vice President, OEM & Partner Enabled Products, HPE Storage said, “LTO tape technology continues to realize annual gains. LTO tape utilization is poised to expand even further as customers increasingly require higher storage capacity and recognize the benefits of the technology.”
This tape capacity shipment achievement emphasizes the growing awareness and need by storage executives to manage massive amounts of stored data cost-effectively and sustainably, while providing unprecedented data protection against data breaches and cyberattacks such as ransomware.
NEW REPORT SHINES A LIGHT ON STORAGE ISSUES
The LTO tape capacity shipment milestone pivots nicely to a report by INSIC, the Information Storage Industry Consortium. INSIC comprises members from a number of industry technology organizations reporting on the current trends, usages and technology innovations occurring within the tape storage industry.
The INSIC 2024 report provides in-depth discussion on a variety of storage topics including market and technology trends, cost analysis, energy consumption, vertical industries and workloads, and sustainability. Let’s take a look at a few of the findings from the report and whet your appetite to view the full report.
WHY TAPE?
One of the first things noticeable in the report is an executive summary that simply but directly states that tape storage has inherent and fundamental usage, cost and longevity benefits including “… low acquisition cost, extremely low power consumption, excellent footprint density, scalability, and … reliability.” These are assuredly many of the reasons that storage managers worldwide choose tape for their long term storage needs as validated by the LTO tape capacity shipment record.
SECURITY AND CYBER RESILIENCY
Attacks by cybercriminals have caused havoc among far too many organizations. It’s been stated that it’s not a matter of ‘if’ but a matter of ‘when’ you will be hit by a cyberattack. These nefarious actions are highly disruptive to victims as described in this BlogBytes article. The INSIC report states that, “One such [cybercrime] scheme is Ransomware, which is malware that locks down a screen or network until a requested payment is made to an anonymous recipient using bitcoin. In 2022, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received 800,944 complaints, with losses exceeding $10.3 billion.
To fight cybercrime, organizations must defend themselves with smart data storage and security strategies.”
Tape technology is a smart data security strategy that can help defend against these disruptive and costly cyberattacks. The INSIC report explains that it’s “The inherent air-gap design of tape [which] makes it the choice for offline data protection and portability, providing significant protection from cyberattacks.” The air-gap design means that when a tape cartridge is removed from the drive it is offline, no longer connected to the system. An air-gap is created between the tape and the system preventing on-line cyber-access to the offline tapes. If online data is compromised the offline protected tape data can be used to recover.
LOTS MORE TO GARNER
The INSIC report goes well beyond the discussion of defense strategies against cybercriminal activity. It dives deep into a variety of storage considerations from total cost of ownership to vertical industry use cases and sustainability. You can view a summary document that describes multiple sections of the report here, and get access to the complete report.
Users around the globe can attest to the cost-savings, strong security, and enhanced sustainability that tape storage can provide as highlighted by the LTO tape capacity shipment milestone achievement conveyed in this press release.
