Essential tech: 6 reasons you need data tape in 2022

Although data tape has been in use since the 1950s, it is still an intrinsic piece of data storage technology. They are still highly relevant to modern data storage, ensuring there is always a data storage backup available when a company needs it.

Here are six reasons why data tape is still an imperative data storage option:

1. They have a lot of capacity

One of the most important data tape advantages is its high storage capacity. These devices are always having their storage capacities grown in ways that allow them to further meet modern data demands.

With tapes, you can gain easy access to a large capacity storage option that whilst having a large capacity comes in a compact device. Therefore, you won’t have to worry about purchasing additional equipment or having a separate data facility to ensure your data is safely stored.

2. They are highly secure

Data tapes can protect data against malware or ransomware. Data tape backups are stored offline, and this means that the tape storage device is only disconnected from the system when the backup operation has finished.

Therefore, if the data tape is not connected to the system, it is impossible for attackers to corrupt the data. This is where tapes are safer when it comes to security, as cloud storage operates online and is always susceptible to malware or ransomware attacks.

3. They are highly cost-effective

Data tapes are an incredibly cost-efficient data storage option. Its cost per gigabyte is quite low, especially as the tape drives allow you to create an offline data storage system, which is even less in terms of maintenance and support.

In certain respects, data tape is considered the most cost-effective method for storing large amounts of legacy data. When it comes to cost and time, you wouldn’t want to convert legacy data into the right format and then transfer said data from the data tape to the new medium - this would simply be impractical.

4. Data tape provides heightened scalability

Backing up your data with data tape provides enhanced scalability. You can buy new tape drives that will allow you to easily scale the tape backup infrastructure before adding them to your company tape library. Conversely, growing the capacity of disk-based storage can be quite expensive as you will have to purchase additional hardware.

5. Data tape is highly efficient

Cloud or disk storage devices are typically used for storing data which requires frequent or rapid access. Therefore, they have to be running on a 24/7 basis to ensure successful data recovery and perform essential data backups. Therefore, disk storage is considered one of the main energy consumption sources in contemporary data centres.

Data tape, conversely, is typically utilised for data archiving due to its capability to store data in an offline setting. Data tape drives work on an “as-needed basis”, only working the data is required or when data needs to be added to them. Therefore, data tape drives consume less power and produce less heat than disk storage options.

6. Data tape increases longevity

Data tapes provide increased longevity and this is why they remain such an essential tool in the modern data storage world. When properly maintained, data tape can store the data for over 30 years and sometimes even more. Therefore, data tape can empire high archival stability as well as provide long-term critical data retention.

As you can see, data tapes are still imperative to modern data storage. Don’t let their age fool you - these old tapes have some new tricks!

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