As the volume of digital data grows exponentially, storing data is becoming a significant social issue. Most digital data is “cold data” that does not require frequent access, and should be stored as such. If stored on a hard disk drive (HDD) that is always on, it is impossible to avoid consuming electricity.
Fujifilm LTO (Linear Tape Open) tape is magnetic data storage tape that meets the cold data storage needs for many businesses, including the world’s largest “hyperscale” datacenters. Tape requires no power except when reading or writing data. It allows the long-term storage of digital data more safely and with lower energy requirements and lower cost than HDDs and other media.
We currently manufacture LTO tape with a storage capacity of 18 TB (uncompressed) per cartridge, and have successfully developed technologies that will boost that capacity to 576 TB in the future*1. We have responded to the social issue of digital data storage with high-capacity LTO tape, contributing to reductions in power consumption for data storage, and by extension, reduced CO2 emissions.