In a recent study conducted by data recovery specialist Kroll Ontrack over 800 IT professionals were surveyed about their use of tape backups. The survey, conducted in the UK, France, Germany, Poland, Italy, the US, Canada, and Australia, quereied participants on several major aspects of tape backup use:
- Cost of tape-based system and maintenance
- Quantity of tapes retained and their age
- Frequency of the need to access tape backups
- Number of redundant backup systems
The study found the following results:
- Tape storage hardware, maintenance, and staff costs are the three highest expenses for a tape-based backup system
- 81% of the respondents had fewer than 100 tapes retained
- 40% of the stored tapes are less than five years old, 48% are up to 10 years old, and 11% are more than 20 years old
- 49% of the respondents had two or three backup systems and 27% had only one
- 39% of the respondents reported that their backup system costs $10k to maintain annually, 6% up to $50k, and 5% up to $100,000.
However, the most notable findings of this study were that 37% of the respondents reported that they had backup tape formats that no longer had any function. In essence these companies, either by regulation or by choice, are maintaining tapes that they simply cannot make use of. Tape administrators were also frequently asked to access information on these tapes, on average 26.5 times a month for "needed but non-active data" (74%), internal investigations (16%), legal proceedings (7%), and mergers and acquisitions (3%). While most admins reported that they could quickly identify the data on a tape, a majority could not immediately identify information stored on tapes down to file level.
When Kroll Ontrack investigated the reports of admins not being able to readily identify data on tapes, they found that it was because it was too troublesome or time intensive to read the backups, and a portion simply did not have the infrastructure to do so. Other common responses included the prohibitive cost to maintain the needed infrastructure and/or the fact that tapes were damaged.
This report illustrates the usefulness of several of PaperFree's powerful Dell EMC products for content management and storage, namely InfoArchive and Documentum. InfoArchive is a utility that allows companies to convert their old data to new formats for easy inclusion into new technology, allowing for retirement of old software, methods, and hardware (such as tapes). Learn more about InfoArchive Application Retirement from PaperFree. In addition, Documentum is a powerful tool for companies to store their data - even old data - in a central repository for easy access by anyone with the proper credentials because data isn't just stored, it's cataloged, keyworded, and cross-linked. Documentum also reduces costs by eliminating the need for accessing physical backups and the labor and expertise required to do so. And, data is protected from damage or catastrophe within the Documentum system. These two powerful tools are vital for any organization that wants to more effectively streamline their process while saving money and time. Learn more about Documentum Enterprise Content Management from PaperFree.