It is possibly the most geeky video ever made, but if you are really into data preservation, watch SpectrumData’s film of a 1/2” tape containing a ‘multimillion dollar data set’ that disintegrates as it is read. If you want to convince management of the need to look after your digital asset, get them to watch too.
SpectrumData MD Guy Holmes observed, ‘This phenomenon has been around for years but we are seeing it progress at an alarming rate. While media age and storage conditions are partly responsible, cheaper tape brands are far more susceptible. Tapes we thought would last 30 or 40 years, simply don’t!’
A dwindling pool of tape manufacturers means that ‘we see massive pools of media that don’t stand the test of time.’ Holmes advised, ‘There is no substitute for acting before the problem arises.’ Data transcription, before it is too late, is advised, possibly to SpectrumData’s new ‘virtual tape’ solution, that uses Amazon’s EC2 cloud to ‘break the offsite storage cycle’ into which companies have been ‘locked for years.’
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