A More Robust Tape Management Platform Can Help Companies Improve Compliance
Backup tape is an extremely effective medium for storing and archiving large volumes of data in a cost-effective manner. Like all storage technologies, backup tape technologies must be deployed carefully in order to keep in line with complex industry regulations. Companies that are unable to toe the line can incur numerous fines as a result of audit failure, and this risk emphasizes the need for a fully functional tape management platform. A high-end application will ease compliance by automating tape tracking, generating centralized tracking reports and keeping a close eye on expiration dates.
There are plenty of compliance-related perks that a robust tape management platform like Vertices can bring to the table. Considering the consequences of neglecting compliance management, learning more about how the right software solution is a prudent strategy for IT and archive managers.
Multiple industries using backup tape face strict storage regulations
Companies from a long list of industries depend on backup tape storage to manage extensive records of private customer information, financial data and secure research information. These same industries are also placed under the highest scrutiny when it comes to compliance. Health care providers, for example, are subject to numerous quality-assurance audits to ensure that confidential patient information doesn’t find its way into the wrong hands.
Similarly, legal firms must find ways to manage archives of client records while doing so in a cost-effective and space-efficient manner. Financial firms and insurance must identify ways to expertly manage rapid influxes of secure data as well. Backup management software makes it significantly easier to sort and search through decades of collected data, making the solution ideal for industries under heavy pressure to meet storage regulations.
Backup tape is ideal for archival storage when properly managed
When it comes to storing records, files, and digitized forms, backup tape is the perfect medium. The high capacity, low energy costs, physical resilience and portability of backup tapes allow all types of companies to rely on them for storing critical pieces of data.
However, these benefits can only be realized if backup tapes are properly managed. The long-term performance associated with backup tapes, for example, can quickly become a liability if there is no system in place to remind employees that are in need of a replacement. Backup tape management systems include these types of reminders as built in features, making it easier for companies to take full advantage of their backup tape resources.
Standardizing operations keeps things simple at scale
Storage capacities that regularly fall into the terabyte range and backward read compatibility make scalability a natural advantage of backup storage, according to ComputerWeekly.com. Unfortunately, scaling efforts can quickly create more problems than it solves if IT staff are not prepared to deal with a new sprawl of infrastructure to manage. Deploying a backup tape storage platform makes it easier to streamline scaling by providing a standardized guideline for adding, sorting and locating new pieces of hardware. This process prevents every addition of new tape from turning into a fresh compliance vulnerability.
Attempting compliance without the necessary resources will add new risk factors
Managing stacks and stacks of backup storage tapes without the right tools will ultimately backfire on IT teams looking to save costs with a DIY approach. Information Systems Security Today emphasized that a simple investment in backup tapes themselves is not enough. Attempting to catalog backup tapes manually, for example, will inevitably become impossibly arduous as the total number of files grows too large to manage without automation. As a result, companies are left with large gaps in compliance with little to show for their time spent. Investing in a backup tape storage management solution will ensure these types of worst case scenarios never come to pass.