Quantum Makes SDLT More Compliant

The San Jose, Calif.-based company is making available DLTice, a free firmware download that allows customers to write data that must be stored in a nonalterable, nondeletable format using write-once, read-many--or WORM--technology, said Steve Berens, senior director of product marketing and strategy.

While Sony, IBM and StorageTek all offer WORM capabilities with their tape drives and media, they require drives or cartridges that are more expensive than standard models, Berens said. "We're the only ones with WORM on standard drives and media," he said.

Quantum is also the only supplier that allows a cartridge to be degaussed for reuse after the data-retention period has ended, he said.

The WORM-formatted tapes will be managed with Quantum's DLTsage technology, which will note any tampering or damaging of the data on the tape. Joe Rorke, vice president of marketing and business development at Rorke Data, a Minneapolis-based solution provider, said he is pleased to see another vendor move forward with WORM capabilities as customers' regulatory requirements increase the demand for ways to safely archive data.

"In particular, [financial and banking industries] have stated in their compliance requirements the need for unerasable, indelible data archiving," he said. The fact that the upgrade is free and there is no need for separate WORM drives and tapes are not big selling factors, Rorke said.

"On a tape-to-tape comparison, there may be some price comparisons," he said. "But we [sell] against things like EMC's [disk-based] Centera, so the price difference with other tape technologies is not so important."