Tape still a dominating force in data backup
Survey reveals IT managers' attitudes to storage mean tape will hold strong for some time to come
Disk-based backup strategies are proving successful for solving specific end-user problems, but the popularity of tape still prevails, according to research by the Taneja Group.
The market analyst recently questioned 200 UK IT managers and discovered that most believed a disk-based storage backup strategy would enable them to meet business objectives more easily.
However, when questioned about their future backup strategies, 36 per cent of respondents said they prefer to archive selected data to disk and then to copy it to tape all in one go. Additionally, 34 per cent of respondents said they would rather move selected data onto disk storage and then migrate it piece by piece over to tape at a later date.
Mark Blowers, senior research analyst at the Butler Group, said: “Things are a bit quicker with disk storage, but that doesn’t preclude a tiered storage approach, which is still a very common sight.
“Disk isn’t the total solution. It will be some years before VARs are asked for a complete disk-based backup strategy.”
Five per cent of respondents intend to use a 100 per cent disk-based backup strategy in future, the report said, while 18 per cent claimed tape will be suitable for all data backup needs.
Steve Cowley, sales manager at storage distributor Hammer, told
CRN that tape will survive for a long time yet. “In specific applications, such as transactional data, disk is often more of an advantage. But it’s always going to be a cost versus performance issue. On cost per GB, disk just can’t compete with tape,” he said.
“A tiered storage approach will continue to be the main suggestion of many resellers for some time to come. It will continue to generate revenue for them as a result.” C