UK firms switch to disk

Businesses are opting for disk over tape when it comes to their backup, survey reveals

Tape is "cumbersome and slow"

UK organisations are rapidly switching their tape-based backup to disk-based solutions, according to research from storage vendor Shoden Data Systems UK.

Conducted by research firm Vanson Bourne, the survey found that up to 72 per cent of organisations have already or are planning to implement disk-based as opposed to tape-based backup this year, which Shoden Data claims should come as no surprise.

In light of the results from the independent survey of 100 UK IT decision makers, the vendor stressed that disk is easy to manage, fast and affordable. Tape, meanwhile, is cumbersome, slow and no longer the most cost effective solution, it said.

One of the biggest proponents of disk-based backup was the financial services market, with 64 per cent of respondents choosing disk over tape.

Phil Jones, chief technical officer at Shoden Data Systems UK, said: “This survey unveils a portrait of the current market which supports the view that in backup environments tape is being replaced by disk. Tape is not disappearing, but it is being marginalised to long-term data retention applications such as archiving.

“Today end users can reduce the amount of storage required for their backup by at least 95 per cent with data deduplication and together with a resulting dramatic reduction in the Capex and Opex this has contributed to the success of disk becoming the backup medium of choice.”

The survey found on average 60 per cent of UK organisations preferred disk-to tape-based backup.

Shoden Data put the switch from tape- to disk-based backup down to increased speed, reliability and the total cost of ownership (TCO) with disk drives and the emergence of deduplication.

The research also revealed the smaller the business, the stronger the response with 64 per cent of respondents from businesses with between 1,000 to 3,000 employees claiming they have already or are planning to deploy tapeless backup this year. In comparison the figure dropped to 56 per cent for firms with more than 3,000 staff.