Oracle Intros Its First Entry-level, Scalable StorageTek Tape Library

By Joseph F. Kovar | CRN

Oracle has unveiled its first-ever scalable tape library for the SMB market, one that it said will replace three other models on its product line card.

The release of Oracle’s new StorageTek SL150 Modular Tape Library comes at a time when the tape library industry is experiencing a renaissance due to the low cost and long lifespan of tape drives and tapes compared to hard drives.

Tom Wultich, director of tape product management at Oracle, pointed to a 2011 survey by analyst firm Gartner that said 78 percent of respondents use tape. He also pointed to analyst firm IDC, which estimated the amount of data kept on tape is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 45 percent from 2010 to 2015.

For Oracle, that represents an opportunity to introduce a scalable tape library targeting the SMB market, Wultich said. “Customers are facing unpredictable data growth at a time when IT budgets are constrained,” he said. “Our goal is to be scalable and simple out of the box.”

Read more of this story on CRN’s website, or by clicking here.  To find out more about Oracle’s StorageTek SL 150 on the Acardia website, please click this link.