United States. Quantum Corporation reported a partnership with IBM on the next generation of LTO (Linear Tape Open) technology. Under the terms of the agreement, Quantum will collaborate with IBM on the development of LTO-10 media and tape drives to accelerate time-to-market, capacity and performance. The specific terms of the agreement are confidential and will not be disclosed.
"With massive data growth, as well as widespread ransomware threats, low-cost ultra-secure LTO is more relevant than ever," says Jamie Lerner, president and CEO of Quantum. "It is a strategic technology for large-scale data storage, and it is imperative that LTO technology continues to evolve to meet the growing needs of the market. This partnership underscores our commitment to LTO and our desire to collaborate with IBM in the development of LTO-10."
About LTO Technology
Linear Tape Open (LTO), also known as LTO Ultrium format, is an open tape format designed for long-term high-capacity storage and is used by many of the world's largest hyperscalers and enterprises to archive data and protect data against ransomware. Since the first LTO products were launched, more than 5.6 million units [1], 351 million cartridges and more than 370 billion terabytes of media capacity have been shipped, making LTO Ultrium the most successful tape format in history.
The latest generation of LTO, LTO-8, began shipping in 2017 with a tape capacity of 12 Terabytes per drive. The next LTO-9 has a target capacity point of 18 Terabytes per unit. Work is now beginning on LTO-10, and this agreement will focus on accelerating the development of LTO-10, as well as improving the capacity and performance of this next generation.
The Importance of LTO Tape for Cold Data Storage and Ransomware Protection
LTO tape is increasingly used for large-scale cold storage due to its low cost, extremely low power and cooling requirements, reliability for storing data for decades, and storage density.
"We are excited about this partnership with IBM," says Bruno Hald, general manager of secondary storage at Quantum. "Customers and the wider tape market will benefit from faster time to market from the next generation of LTO and its anticipated improvements in LTO storage densities. We believe this news will be very well received in the market by all those customers who rely on LTO as a key part of their storage infrastructure."
