By Dr. Marc M. Batschkus
1. Storage Grows Even More
More data, larger files, more media production result in more demand for storage. With a possible shortage of some chips and components, this means that the storage setup of most companies will not only grow but will become more heterogeneous. More brands and more different products will be used to fulfill the storage needs.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/871513/worldwide-data-created/
2. Chip Shortage and Less Stable Supply Chains Mean Longer Usage of Storage
Since not all products will be available when needed and in all regions, a longer life span of existing storage or new hardware will be the result. Strict maintenance of existing storage should be in place to prevent data loss due to prolonged usage.
3. Higher Storage Density
Storage manufacturers will provide increased density of their storage products. More space per hard disk or NVME module, more space on each LTO tape (with upcoming LTO-10). ADAPT and ADR are some of the technologies that are used to increase density in hard disks. Seagate recently introduced a 30TB hard disk.
https://www.seagate.com/gb/en/news/news-archive/seagates-breakthrough-30tb-plus-hard-drives-ramp-volume-marking-an-inflection-point-in-the-storage-industry-pr/
4. New LTO Generation with LTO-10
LTO-10 will be introduced in 2024 and offer double density over LTO-9 with a total native capacity of 36TB per cartridge. As a result, previous existing LTO generations might become even more affordable making LTO more attractive to more companies.
https://www.lto.org/roadmap/
5. More NAS Storage
More NAS storage products will be entering the market. They will be easier to use, offer more capacity at the same or lower prices. Local servers will be replaced or not be necessary, since most of the NAS devices offer similar services. App centers will become more important as solution marketplaces. QNAP and Synology are the most prominent NAS brands and Archiware P5 is already available in both app centers.
6. Increased Focus on Sustainability, Energy Saving, and Efficient Energy Use
Hard disk vendors, like Seagate, are introducing refurbished certified hard disks to be used for less demanding storage needs and archive to disk. Reuse of components and materials will be increasing among manufacturers of storage products.
7. Increased Archiving to LTO tape
Migration of completed projects and file storage to LTO tape for reuse and compliance will increase. More LTO vendors, such as OWC, SYMPLY, MagStor, mLogic, Overland-Tandberg, IBM, Quantum, UNITEX, and others are offering more accessible and flexible desktop drives with SAS, FC, iSCSI, Thunderbolt, and even USB interfaces. LTO tape offers the best cost per TB and a proven track record for long-term archiving. Additionally, no monthly cost or egress fees apply. Archiving to LTO tape is a cost-effective and secure solution that offers maximum security through its air gap and flexible offsite portability.
8. Backup to LTO Tape has a Comeback Due to Protection with Air Gap
As a solution that offers maximum protection of files against any malware, Backup to LTO tape has a comeback. LTO tapes offer air gap, offline and offsite storage with no relevant cost for electric power, cooling, or any monthly fees.
9. More Media Production
More media will be produced than ever. Since the cost for necessary equipment, hardware, and software has been dropping for several years and the demand for media has increased, more production will take place. Larger formats will drive storage needs, locally and in cloud services. High-quality production can already take place on iPhones with the use of the new Black Magic App and cloud service. Corporate video, events, local news, and special interest channels will also drive demand.
10. Increased Importance of the Media and File Archive as the Long-Term Memory of Each Company
With the growing amount of media and file creation comes the need to migrate files to long-term storage for archiving. Completed projects need to be kept for returning customers, reuse, licensing or compliance. A consistent archive becomes the memory of a company. It saves time finding files, since there is only one place to look for them – the archive index. Archiving saves space on production or high-performance storage, since it is a migration. When compared to the constant investment of online storage, the archive pays off by saving cost and time for searching files. Both LTO tape and cloud storage are available as long-term storage.
