On previous email blasts, we spoke about how Sony and Panasonic, amongst others, are focusing heavily in the data archival market using optical disc cartridges and developing optical discs with massive storage capacity. A recent article in Fortune further emphasizes this point. In the article, it discussed how Sony has acquired a startup company that was created by a former Facebook executive for the sole purpose of archiving cold data for easy storage and retrieval offline.

The impact of this acquisition is huge as it relates to data storage, the life expectancy for optical discs, and how cold data will be maintained and stored in the future. Just by its name, “cold data” it’s obvious that content is not something that will need to be recalled frequently or even sparingly. Typically its data that needs to be saved, but is rarely accessed and certainly doesn’t need to be accessed within fractions of a second. So why waste valuable server storage, expensive energy, or IT time to maintain this data? There is no reason, and the cold data becomes a drain on servers, making the hot data become bogged down and more costly to maintain.

The answer to how cold data should be handled is to store this content offline, on optical discs. When you need to recall it, simply pull up the optical disc it’s stored on through an intricate indexing system that can be recalled in seconds and keep it all offline. That way the data is safe, it’s not syphoning energy as it would on a server, and it frees up a tremendous amount of space for more critical data.

So when you wonder how long will optical discs remain relevant? Apparently major companies like Sony are betting it will be a very long time!

When you want the best Optical Discs for any format or printable surface, that answer is clear as well, contact Vinpower Digital. Vinpower offers optical media for all markets, formats, and price points with top quality and reliability. Contact a Vinpower representative for more details on our wide range of optical disc options.