Disk is the new Tape, and Tape is the new Microfiche
Beth Pariseau at Storage Soup asks if tape is finally dead. Back in 2000 when I worked at StorageTek, that was the mantra from EMC, and we took it personally. There was lots of life left in tape then, and there still is today.
But life goes on. Tape continues to shift right in the scheme of things, storing data that is older and less active. The good news for tape is that even geriatric data is highly valued, and there’s a ton of it.
Enter flash
Meanwhile, the young whippersnapper flash is just starting to replace disk in applications needing the highest performance or the lowest capacity. That’s the way it begins – that’s how disk started out vs. tape decades ago. It’s the natural order of things – the circle of life.
Dream about the future but act on the present
This trend will take years – probably decades – to play itself out. So while it pays to respect your elders and encourage the youngest generation, disk should be in no hurry to make reservations at the retirement home.
Disk is the breadwinner of the family, in its prime earning years. Make sure you’re fully employing it in your solutions.
Comments please! How are you using tape and/or flash today, for work or play?
Circle of life. I get it.
I use flash in one of my MP3 players and I have a bunch of the little USB keys floating around from various conferences and shows that I keep in a box. My other two portable video players use hard drives since I keep lots of movies with me. As for tape, don’t have an inch of it in my house. The kids think tape is something you use to stick a picture on the fridge.