Companies are beginning to realize the importance of retaining their electronic files for extended periods of time. Although the majority of these files are most often never accessed or modified again they serve as valuable reference data. Market studies estimate that of all the data generated by a company in its lifetime, up to 70% of it is reference data. Most current storage infrastructures are ill-equipped to handle the capacity, archiving and long-term storage requirements.

Most companies make no attempt to try and solve this problem. Often left on the same high-performance, high-dollar systems as their current data and business-critical applications, leads users to a growing dependence upon disk-based arrays and magnetic tape. The end result is that as the size of the backup window required grows by an order of magnitude to the amount of storage employed. Most companies will not have the time or the resources to devote to completely backing up terabytes of storage thoroughly, ultimately placing the company’s most valued assets at risk.

DISC products alleviate the burden of maintaining reference data by adding capacity to networks while shrinking backup windows. Data can be automatically migrated, as it ages, off of the frontline data storage infrastructure to a centralized repository. Stored on optical media, data can be reliably maintained for up to 35 years, while random access ensures quick and easy retrieval as needed. Because the reference data is stored on a DISC solution, the backup window is significantly reduced as optional High-Availability functionality and Write Once Read Many (WORM) recording options ensure data preservation.

DISC solutions are offered with either Network Attach Storage or Storage Area Network connectivity options, ensuring that the data stored on the system will be maintained, and continuously accessible, as an active part of the network regardless of where it resides.