Cold Data Storage Market Continues to Grow

An estimated 60% of all data is in “cold storage,” meaning that it’s infrequently accessed (if it’s ever accessed). And thanks to a number of factors, that percentage is expected to grow over the next decade.

A report from International Data Corp. (IDC) and Seagate Technology estimates that the total amount of data created was around 33 zettabytes (ZB) in 2018. That number was expected to increase to 175 ZB by 2025 — and even that enormous figure may be a low estimate.

Over the past year, the rise of artificial intelligence (A.I.) has propelled the growth of cloud storage, and many organizations have scrambled to find robust, secure storage solutions.

More Enterprises Turn To Tape

The IDC’s report estimated that 15 percent of all data was stored on tape as of 2021. Data tape cartridges are perfectly suited to cold storage: They’re reliable, cost effective, and inherently secure — with appropriate system planning and implementation.

And new technologies have eliminated some of the major drawbacks associated with tape-based formats. The Linear Tape Open (LTO) Program introduced the LTO-9 cartridge with resounding success, and the project plans to surpass the 1-petabyte-per-tape barrier by 2032.

LTO cartridges can utilize the Linear Tape File System (LTFS) to provide HDD-like read access to datasets. While tape is fundamentally less accessible than other formats (such as hard drives or solid-state storage), LTFS and similar technologies can bridge the gap.

For Enterprises, Data Tape Is A Powerful Tool For Controlling Costs

Data tapes provide a lower total cost of ownership (TCO) than other formats; LTO-9 currently costs around $0.0058, and their small physical footprint limits other organizational costs. By one estimate, LTO-8 — the previous generation of LTO storage — had a TCO 86% lower than disk solutions and 66% lower than cloud solutions over a 10-year period.

But at scale, management becomes a crucial predictor of total expenses. Tape systems must be built for scalability — regardless of their format — and managers should plan for future changes in backup technologies. That means planning for eventual data conversion, and wherever possible, setting up long-term strategies for upgrading key systems without data loss.

Systems must be evaluated to ensure an adequate level of redundancy. Perhaps most importantly, businesses must have disaster recovery strategies that account for all potential threats (including ransomware and natural disasters).

These challenges aren’t unique to tape. In fact, tape storage is well-suited for compliance with security/privacy laws, and planning redundancy is certainly just as difficult for HDD-based systems.

Expert Resources for Tape Migration, Data Recovery, and More

If your enterprise is considering a switch to tape — or away from tape — we’re here to help. Total Data Migration maintains an extensive hardware library of current and legacy tape formats, and our team has experience with at-scale migration, data conversion, and disaster recovery.

With support for over 3000 native tape systems and backup formats, we’ve built our reputation as a world leader in data services. From data recovery to legacy system retirement, TDM provides comprehensive resources to help organizations manage tape — and optimize their systems for cold data storage.