Organizations transitioning cold data storage from hard disks to tape could save a lot of money and cut carbon emissions, according to analysis of various bodies of research by the IEEE Spectrum. The report also cites statements and guidance provided by Brad Johns, an IBM data storage business veteran and data storage consultant.
Research by IDC (PDF, 2019) indicates that 60% of all data would be a good candidate for magnetic tape storage – in other words it would usually be classified as cold data. However, only an estimated 15% of all data is kept on tape. Two key advantages of tape, compared to HDD, are its double lifespan and much lower energy consumption.
