E X P E R T O P I N I O N aced with the ongoing exponential

The scale of the collective challenge is difficult to overstate , with enterprises and data centres operating in a minimal delete ‘ zettabyte era ’ where total global data creation is projected to exceed 180 zettabytes – or 180 trillion gigabytes – by 2025 .

Despite the cost associated with storing the massive amounts of data required to run modern businesses , organisations

are challenged to determine which data can be deleted , and therefore retain a majority of all data stored . In fact , industry figures suggest that 60 %– 80 % of all data is cold or frozen – i . e ., infrequently or never accessed .

In certain industry sectors , this problem is difficult to avoid , with the likes of scientific , corporate , government public records and media / entertainment storage organisations needing to retain data on an indefinite basis , often for legal reasons .

At the same time , in many – if not most – data centres and enterprises , SSDs have become the primary storage technology of choice and are also increasingly deployed in the secondary and tertiary storage tiers . Part of the problem this has created is SSD technologies are a less-than-ideal cold / frozen storage solution , particularly given their relatively high energy consumption and cost per gigabyte compared to other approaches .

Take the issues associated with energy consumption and sustainability , for example . Data centres are already under considerable pressure to minimise CO 2 emissions as part of the move to Net Zero , and storage has a significant role to play in the overall picture . Then there ’ s the impact of AI , which is prompting a further surge in storage requirements as advanced technologies are implemented at a rapid rate . Put all this together , and the reluctance to delete has some serious ramifications .

Tale of the tape

For many data centre users , one solution to this challenge has been to increase their use of tape storage which , over many decades , has proved its value as a reliable and cost-effective technology . Indeed , the ‘ death ’ of tape , which has long been predicted , is arguably further away than it ’ s been in years , given the significant growth seen in the market .

More specifically , reports suggest it will surpass over US $ 14 billion in value by 2032 – up from US $ 8 billion last year .

There are a number of factors contributing to this trend . Cybersecurity , for example , is one of the reasons why organisations have decided not to delete data , particularly given the rise of ransomware and the impact it can have on data assets .

Tape storage technologies such as Linear Tape-Open ( LTO ) are used to isolate data from network access , particularly as part of the 3-2-1-1 , whereby organisations keep three copies of data across two media types , with one copy offsite and one offline .

In addition , LTO offers native hardware encryption , ensuring data remains inaccessible without the correct decryption key , adding a layer of protection against unauthorised access .

It can also be combined with other security technologies , such as endpoint protection , intrusion detection ( IDS ) and security information and event management ( SIEM ) systems , as part of an integrated anti-ransomware strategy that also helps protect against a wide range of other cyberthreats .

Closely linked to this is the role of data immutability – an increasingly crucial

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