http://www.itpro.co.uk/storage/news/122774/old-tape-formats-pose-threat-to-data-recovery.html
By Rene Millman
15th August 2007
Defunct tape formats could mean that data stored on them may never see
the light of day.
Many companies could find that data stored on old tape formats is almost
impossible to retrieve, according to an expert.
Alastair Molyneux, business development director of data recovery
company Kroll Ontrack said that some organisations have electronic data
dating back decades and the chances of it being retrieved or rendered
inaccessible over time are fairly high.
"Data is increasingly being stored in electronic format and we have seen
an exponential increase in recovery requests in the last 20 years," he
said. "Companies need to ensure that their houses are in order and
everything is backed up properly."
He said that retrieving data that is damaged or inaccessible can be
costly and may require special equipment. Molyneux said that by
maintaining updated records and data on modern media formats, extraction
could be "quick and painless".
"It is important for a company to look at its past as well as its
future. By maintaining archives and ensuring data is easily accessible
in a modern format, storage costs will decrease, the organisation will
be better aligned with compliance regulations and essential information
will be easily locatable," he said.
Received on Thu Aug 16 01:23:56 2007