Remember Tape Backup? It’s Still Alive and Kicking

IT professionals have all but proclaimed the tape backup system, which dominated the data backup space for decades, to be all but dead. This declaration may have been premature however. Over the past several years, there has been a resurgence in companies that use tape backup. This week, we will go into why businesses are willingly utilizing what can only be described as an antiquated technology for their system redundancy. 

Tape Backup is Dead. Long Live Tape Backup?

For the past several years data redundancy strategies have grown to be more-or-less commonplace, and that is because of the availability of digital systems for digital failover that can be purchased for small amounts of capital. Tape backup, on the other hand, has been phased out for some time, but there are some organizations that still depend on it. Here are some reasons why businesses might continue to use tape backup:

• Longevity and Reliability - Tape backup has a long track record of reliability. Tapes can last for many years when stored properly, and they are less susceptible to data corruption compared to some other media.
• Long-Term Storage - Tape storage can be useful for archiving large volumes of data over extended periods. Once the initial investment in tape infrastructure is made, the ongoing costs can be relatively low.
• Data Retention Regulations - Some industries and organizations are subject to strict data retention regulations that require them to maintain backups of data for several years or even decades. Tape backup used to be seen as a reliable way to meet these compliance requirements.
• Large Data Sets - For organizations with massive data sets that would be impractical to back up to the cloud due to bandwidth constraints, tape backup can still be a viable option.
• Legacy Systems - Some businesses may have legacy systems that rely on tape backup, and migrating to newer technologies might be expensive or complex.
• Offline Backup - Tape backups can be taken offline and stored in secure offsite locations, reducing the risk of data loss in the event of a catastrophic failure or natural disaster.

There are Better Options

Most IT providers will tell you that it’s just nice to see organizations taking the initiative to protect their data, but even from that perspective there are simply better ways to protect your data. The one we push—and we think it’s the best one—is the BDR (backup and disaster recovery). This backs up your data incrementally, in intervals as little as every 15 minutes, and saves it both on the onsite BDR device and in the cloud (situated in an offsite data center). This provides elite redundancy as well as easy recovery regardless of why you need to restore. 

Tape, on the other hand, is extremely labor-intensive, and can take hours or days just to restore a small amount of data. It’s not a reliable method for getting back on track quickly.

If you would like to learn more about data backup, why it’s necessary, and how we can help you protect your business’ digital resources, give us a call today at (703) 743-3056.