“LTFS [Linear Tape File System] is a real game changer for active archives,” according to Simon Watkins, Worldwide Tape Product Marketing Manager, HP Storage at Hewlett-Packard Co. Watkins joined theCUBE, SiliconANGLE’s Media team, to discuss the future of tape storage during HP Discover Las Vegas 2015.

Watkins sees modern tape data storage as a less expensive, higher performance medium than disk drives. Addressing the idea that tape is an outdated medium, he noted: “Just because a technology is mature doesn’t mean that there aren’t any opportunities, and it certainly doesn’t mean that there isn’t any innovation.”

Centralized storage that provides accessibility

Joining Watkins on theCUBE was Tim Heit, a photographer at Barrett-Jackson Auction Co. Heit spoke about how Barrett-Jackson is using HP’s tape technology for storage of the company’s media files. With more than 18 years of live TV footage archived in various formats, Barrett-Jackson needed cost-effective, centralized digital storage that provided longevity and security, as well as the ability to access footage for use in future productions.

“Being able to retrieve it if we need it, and when we need it, was what we were looking for,” Heit told theCUBE.

With the ability to store 6.25 TB on a single cartridge, a sustained transfer rate of 1.44 TB per hour, and LTFS allowing Tape as NAS, tape storage now provides the “performance benefits of flash with long-term cost and reliability benefits of tape,” Watkins said.

Watch the full interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of HP Discover Las Vegas 2015.

Photo by SiliconANGLE