by Dan Nadir

The topic of health insurance can be a hot button issue for people. Some people simply want a high-deductible plan for emergencies, and others want coverage for more routine expenses. But when costly procedures start piling up, we can all agree that it’s best to have coverage to help us pay the bills.

Unlike individuals, businesses can’t afford to get philosophical when it comes to protecting themselves. Losing any important information, whether by theft or accident, can spell disaster. And it’s foolish to think it will never happen to small businesses. From outright attacks, to natural disaster, to employees losing laptops, the headlines are littered with examples of businesses suffering from information mishaps. And when you can’t replace the missing information, you just might be out of business.

by Teig Lynster

The introduction of Linear Tape File System (LTFS) has changed the landscape for tape in the data storage industry. Tape as “NAS,” “tape appliance,” “Active Archive,” – these are all terms that will come to represent tape’s new role side-by-side with disk on the network. Tape is no longer just offline or near-line. It can be online all the time as shared storage. Indeed, tape has been repositioned as a hassle-free solution for companies looking at upgrading their data center environments.

This is a big deal, as the total cost of ownership (TCO) advantages of tape are even more important in an archive environment as data growth continues unabated. With this revitalization of tape, companies can optimize their archiving budgets and protect their bottom line. An independent study conducted by Brad Johns Consulting has found that LTFS is ultimately 80 percent less expensive to sustain and operate than disk-based archives. This is achievable as it is a lower-priced format and requires less energy to operate. While this is not groundbreaking news (the cost benefits of tape have always been apparent), the hassles and time commitment needed for operation have weighed in the minds of decision makers. After all, tape solutions have traditionally not been the easiest to handle, but the tides have changed.

Until recently, tape storage has been associated with offline capabilities. With the entire world moving online and going mobile, this comparatively primitive form of accessibility cannot be considered forward thinking or practical. It also would mean the inclusion of many extraneous intermediary steps between accessing information. With older archives, the data goes away and waits to be accessed, which usually involves a number of steps and the inclusion of an IT intermediary.