Why tape continues to stick. (First In/First Out).

Rich Harada, executive director of the Tape Technology Council, makes his case why tape storage may be more vital now than when it was first developed 50 years ago. The Council was formed last year to help put tape's best foot forward, in a world full of many storage technology options. Today, the Council is emerging as an industry resource, where those deeply familiar with tape can go to gain more understanding and those unaware can start to make sense of the choices facing them.

The first column in a series focusing on tape and its future, CTR's Mark Ferelli caught up with Harada to talk about the new council's role and why tape's place as a data storage medium remains rock solid, even after all these years.

Mark Ferelli: Tell me about the Tape Technology Council and why it was formed?

Rich Harada: The Tape Council, as we affectionately call it, is an alliance comprised of executives from leading tape storage technology manufacturers and developers. At present, there are ten companies participating, and we. are talking with several others. When we first started with this idea, about a year ago, we wanted to create a non-profit organization that could address issues related to all tape technology formats. As you know, there are many individual companies supporting separate tape formats; however, until the Tape Council was formed, there was never a single resource devoted to the format in general. We thought it was time to address this issue head on.

Mark Ferelli: As an organization, what do you hope to accomplish?

Rich Harada: Initially, we set out to simply communicate the benefits of tape broadly, to the industry. Now, we've become more of an information portal. When data storage professionals turn to us, our goal is to provide a balanced, objective perspective on tape technologies to aid in storage system evaluation and purchasing decision making.

Mark Ferelil: How can people best utilize the Council to get the information they are looking for?

Rich Harada: We're a conduit for information on tape, which we provide free of charge in several different ways. The first place people can check out is our website (www.tapecouncil.org), where we post whitepapers, links to other sites, and an interactive area that allows people to "Ask the Expert" a specific data storage question. We cull through these requests each week and pass them on to the most appropriate council member to answer. We post key questions and answers on the site, for all to view.

This year, we also are starting to host panel discussions at industry trade shows. As you know, Mark, in January we held a roundtable discussion in Los Angeles entitled, "The Future of Tape." Members of the council came together, with several key media people who cover storage, to discuss where tape is headed.

And, through this column, of course! It's a great forum for us to submit regular commentary on key issues relating to tape.

Mark Ferelli: Will the Council also be involved in setting technical standards for tape?

Rich Harada: No, that is not in our charter. We are not a standards body, nor do we intend to have that capacity in the future.

Mark Ferelli: You must have gotten this one before but, I am curious, why create the Council now, why not years ago?

Rich Harada: It's a good question. It was really quite amazing; all of these disparate and, in many cases, competing companies coming together. They all agreed that tape had become a label for many different technologies, with no one championing the overall format. Previously, each company was narrowly focused on their own "flavor-of-the-month" product. At the same time, several of the new, alternative storage technologies were getting the lion's share of attention from both the media and the industry as a whole. At face value, tape was loosing its luster; when, in reality, it was never stronger. That realization led to the Council's creation as a means to tell tape's full story.

Mark Ferelli: Are you suggesting that tape had an image problem?

Rich Harada: Tape is one of the most widely used storage technologies on the planet. It's certainly well known and well utilized. However, there are several storage-hungry areas, such as printing and graphic arts, video production and medical, that don't have a history of using tape. They don't know the technology the same way as the more traditional IT folks do. We want to help them understand the benefits of tape.

Another factor is that the role of data storage has shifted. Business globalization and ecommerce are changing the way companies use their archived data. Companies now require 24X7 access to data and that puts new pressure on storage technology. Many organizations use tape for interactive, near-line storage applications today. For example, the newest generation of tape system formats, such as IBM's Magstar 3590E, Quantum's SuperDLT, Sony's S-AIT, StorageTek's 9840 and 9940 and LTO, offer access times and capacity that many would never have dreamed possible just three years ago. We're getting closer to the point where a single tape cartridge will be able to store a terabyte of data--uncompressed. Our challenge is that some people still pigeonhole tape purely as a backup and restore tool when, in fact, it's one of the most versatile solutions out there.

Mark Ferelli: How do you combat this perception that tape is an antiquated technology?

Rich Harada: Tape has evolved considerably over its five-plus decades. In the past few years alone, we've seen impressive performance improvements that put it on par with alternatives at considerably less cost per megabyte. And, while some have predicted its demise for years, it remains the most cost-effective, flexible and scalable medium for high-capacity storage backup. It's less of an initial investment than other formats and is easily transportable for outside sharing. In these cost-conscious times, this makes a pretty powerful argument.

Mark Ferelli: I'm a data center manager looking at options, why should I consider tape?

Rich Harada: The first thing to recognize is that tape is not right for every application. Optical and disk-based solutions are well-suited for many storage requirements. We think each technology has a place. The bottom line is that tape offers the right blend of price and performance that can help data center managers and other data storage professionals reduce costs while ensuring near-line access to archived data.

The Tape Technology Council was formed last year to help put tape's best foot forward in a world full of many storage technology options. Today, the Council is emerging as an industry resource where those deeply familiar with tape can go to gain more understanding, and those unaware can start to make sense of the choices facing them. Members of the Tape Technology Council include EMTEC Magnetics, Fujifilm, IBM, Imation, Maxell, Quantum, Seagate Removable Storage Solutions, Sony Electronics, StorageTek and TDK For more information about tape-related issues, visit the following website or, if your company is interested in membership, contact Rich Harada at [e-mail].