Tape is still not dead.

This is something we’ve known for a long time now.

Whilst tape is more often than not no longer the core technology of an offsite backup solution it is still an important part of a robust data protection and archive strategy.

The cost of lost data can be staggering, in essence far greater than the cost of putting in place a robust data protection plan. In addition to costs from downtime, legal liability is another problematic factor that could cause distress when data is not properly managed.

To properly protect your company and your customer’s data, tape is an important part of the solution.

The Benefits of Tape

When it comes to modern backups we see two main benefits if combined with disk and cloud solutions, as first and second targets.

• Air-gapped backups – no electronic attack can compromise offline media.  When stored with a trusted third-party provider such a TIMG, offsite, offline media can even protect against insider threats.
• Archive Storage – many companies have requirements to store some or all backups for periods of up to seven years – or longer.  Even the cheapest Cloud Archive Storage cannot compete with the per GB cost of tape. 

The durability of tape media is also second to none when stored correctly.
Tape drives and libraries are expensive, management is time consuming and more services are being moved off premise and into the cloud.