Tape Storage Market

Market Overview

The global tape storage market size was worth USD 4,779 million in 2021. It is expected to generate USD 9,395 million by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 7.8% during the forecast period (2022–2030).

Tape storage is a data storage technology that utilizes magnetic tape as the recording medium. It is a device that holds computer files and data on magnetic tape, mainly for reasons of backup and archiving. A tape drive stores data on a loop of flexible celluloid-like material that may be read and erased, similar to a conventional tape recorder. Tape storage utilizes one of the earliest digital information storage ideas. It remains in high demand as a cost-effective, safe, and extensible tape storage technology for long-term retention and protection of infrequently accessed but vital data.

The primary advantages of tape storage are its longevity, low cost, and large data storage capacity. Tapes are generally cheaper than cloud storage. They can also be less expensive than disc and solid-state drives, utilized in the fastest enterprise data centers. Furthermore, in the wake of increased data volumes, tape storage has become an optimal solution for data storage requiring greater capacity. It is used as a backup in system failure and for archiving data for long-term storage.

Tape storage provides various advantages, including long-term storage, increased capacity, cheap operating costs, and excellent security and safety. The expansion of the global tape storage market is primarily driven by the substantial increase in data volumes and the expanding usage of tape storage by big enterprises. In addition, the escalation of ransomware assaults on enterprise networks contributes to the tape storage market's expansion. Industrialization expansion also fuels the global tape storage market.

Market Dynamics

Drivers: Extensive Rise in Data Volumes

In conjunction with data generated by humans and machines, traditional corporate data is currently seeing the fastest growth rate around the globe. It is anticipated that the ever-increasing volume of data would fuel the demand for tape storage solutions with increased capacities. The transition from data stored on paper to stored in computers is mainly responsible for this explosion in the volume of data, which necessitates efficient storage solutions. The protection of this data is a significant concern in light of the exponential growth rate of data; hence, tape storage is widely utilized to preserve data backups in a secure location. This aspect is anticipated to be the primary driver of the growth of the global tape storage market.

Drivers: Growth in the Use of Tape Storages by Large Organizations and the Attacks on Organizational Networks

Large companies are witnessing an exponential increase in the volume of enterprise-grade data and an increase in the demand for high-capacity backup and archiving storage. In addition, tape storage is the most desired storage choice for large businesses since it allows them to meet their low-cost and high-volume data storage requirements. In addition, the presence of enterprise-grade tape storage development strategies among key companies drives the adoption of tape storage in large organizations.

Furthermore, a series of ransomware assaults have been witnessed across the globe. Businesses are reassessing their data protection technology and procedures. Consequently, backing up to storage tape is one of the most excellent ways for such enterprises to utilize physical air gaps to protect against ransomware attacks. In addition, an increasing number of businesses have already implemented magnetic tape storage technology on their networks. Companies store their data on separate drives, such as tape drives, to isolate it from the network and reduce security risks. This factor is a significant growth driver of the global tape storage market.

Restraint: High Initial Investments

The requirement of a significant capital outlay for tape storage is projected to create restrains in the global tape storage market. The purchase of a tape storage system is often expensive and necessitates specialized hardware. When establishing a new system, it is necessary to make significant investments upfront. In addition to this, maintenance expenses are exceptionally high, which, in turn, impedes the expansion of the global tape storage market. In addition, both the recovery of backups and the maintenance of tape storage drives following a data backup are challenging tasks to complete. This is yet another significant aspect that can stunt the development of the tape storage market.

Opportunities: A Rise in the Demand for Data Storage and Security

Tape storage has evolved into the ideal answer for a wide variety of next-generation applications, rapidly increasing enterprises' traditional storage infrastructure. These applications include data security and the storage demands for the Internet of Things (IoT), surveillance, hyper-scale computing, cloud storage service providers, entertainment, and Big Data. During the forecast period, it is envisioned that the implementation of tape storage will provide profitable prospects for expanding the global tape storage market.

Regional Analysis

Region-wise, the global tape storage market share is bifurcated into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA.

The Preponderance of North America Over Other Regions

North America commands the leading position in the market and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.5% by 2030. The landscape of the tape storage market in this region is constantly shifting and progressing. The primary factors driving the market's growth are the strong foothold of tape storage technology developers in the region and their continued investments and research & development activities pertaining to advanced storage technologies. This region also fosters substantial expenditures in digital content and is home to essential participants in the market, such as IBM, Dell Technologies Inc., and HPE. Thus, propelling the expansion of the global tape storage market.

Asia-Pacific is anticipated to grow at a higher CAGR of 9.1% and generate USD 2,639 million by 2030. China, Japan, Thailand, India, and Indonesia, are making significant investments in tape storage. The Chinese market and the region's robust industrialization are the primary drivers of tape storage market expansion in Asia-Pacific. Furthermore, the ongoing developments in the field of tape storage, in terms of cartridge capacity, as well as the surge in investments in storage solutions, fuel the tape storage market expansion across the region.

In addition, businesses operating in industries such as media and entertainment, information technology and telecommunications, and banking, financial services, and insurance are struggling with the difficulties posed by rising data volumes, variety, and velocity, which has led to an increase in the demand for effective storage solutions, driving the tape storage market expansion in Asia-Pacific.

Segmental Analysis

The global tape storage market share is bifurcated into components, technology, capacity, use case, end-user, industrial vertical, and region.

Segmentation based on components includes Tape Cartridges and Tape Vault.

• On the Basis of Components

Tape Cartridges are expected to hold the largest market share, growing at a CAGR of 7.9% during the forecast period. Tape cartridges are storage containing a loop of magnetic tape used to store a variety of data formats, including corporate data and audio and video files. It must be interoperable with video/audio recorders and computer systems. It is frequently utilized in tape library devices to store digital data on magnetic tape bundled in cartridges. The expansion of tape cartridges is fueled by the desire for smaller storage devices with enhanced dependability, higher data transfer rates, and lower maintenance costs. Many enterprises rely on tape storage for long-term archiving and low-cost, high-capacity data storage. Furthermore, the advent of innovative tape cartridges offers lucrative growth potential for the global tape storage market.

Tape Vault facilitates the relocation of sensitive data off-site and into a highly secure environment. The need for an emergency recovery strategy is the primary driver of tape vault usage. The vault aids in locating tapes in an off-site location for rapid retrieval, ensuring that an organization has backup copies of vital data in a disaster. In addition, the availability of a secure and advanced tape vault drives organizations to utilize tape vaults as part of their disaster recovery strategies.

Segmentation based on technology includes LTO-1 to LTO-5, LTO-6, LTO-7, LTO-8, LTO-9, DDS-1, DDS-2, DDS-3, DDS-4, and DLT IV.

• On the Basis of Technology

LTO 8 is expected to hold the largest market share, growing at a CAGR of 9% by 2030. LTO-8 is a technology of generation 8 that became accessible in 2017. It offers a native memory space of 12 TB and a compressed storage capacity of 30 TB. With businesses regularly storing terabytes/petabytes of data, capacity has become an essential storage component. In addition, the volume of data produced globally has expanded tremendously in recent years due to the development of IoT and ICT, the proliferation of 4K and 8K videos, and the use of AI for Big Data analysis. This element stimulates the adoption of tape storage goods and the expansion of the global tape storage market.

LTO-9 is a technology of generation 9 that becomes accessible in 2020. It provides the most recent LTO software and an enhanced tape cartridge capacity of up to 18 TB. The market for LTO-9-based tape storage is fueled by an increase in data security and capacity requirements. In addition, it provides 18 TB of raw capacity and up to 45 TB of compressed capacity and long-term archiving, offline, and air-gapped data storage. These characteristics extensively drive the expansion of LTO-9 tape storage. In addition, market participants are actively launching LTO-9 tape storage systems, which further drives the global tape storage market.

Segmentation based on capacity includes Less than 1 TB, 1 TB to 200 TB, 201 TB to 999 TB, 1 PB to 100 PB, and More than 100 PB.

• On the Basis of Capacity

1 TB to 200 TB is anticipated to hold the largest market share, growing at a CAGR of 8.8% during the forecast period. Increased desire to meet the backup needs of businesses with optimal speed and security at a low cost drives the usage of tape storage. In addition, several market participants provide unique solutions for tape storage with hardware compression, hence increasing storage capacity. This factor contributes to the expansion of this segment.

Segmentation based on use case includes Archiving and Backup.

• On the Basis of Use Case

Backup will likely hold a more significant market share, growing at a CAGR of 8.4% during the forecast period. Tape backup refers to backing up vital data to a tape cartridge. Tape is still commonly used for backup and recovery purposes, even though many enterprises have shifted to cloud storage or disc drives for their primary storage. This market is growing due to large companies' widespread usage of tape storage as offline backup storage. In addition to portability and durability, tape storage systems store massive volumes of data offline and assure the stability of long-term backups. Consequently, these circumstances increase the requirement for backup purposes.

Segmentation based on end-user includes Cloud Providers, Data Centers, and Enterprises.

• On the Basis of End-User

Data Centers are expected to hold the largest market share, growing at a CAGR of 7.8% during the forecast period. Tape storage is utilized in modern data centers because of its greater capacity and durability than solid-state and hard disc drives. Increased adoption of tape storage for archiving in data centers boosts the global tape storage market. Corporate IT titans continue to employ magnetic tape technology in their data centers despite the accelerating data growth. In addition, the significance of tape storage in contemporary data centers is quickly expanding as significant technological improvements have positioned tape storage as the most cost-effective, dependable, secure, and high-capacity storage medium accessible.

Segmentation based on the industrial vertical includes IT & Telecom, BFSI, Media & Entertainment, Healthcare, Oil & Gas, and Government & Defense.

• On the Basis of Industrial Vertical

IT & Telecom is expected to hold the largest market share, growing at a CAGR of 9% by 2030. To manage the fast expansion of unstructured data, IT and telecom organizations use tape storage systems to increase data security. The adoption of tape storage is driven by the rising requirement for telecommunications companies to rapidly consume vast volumes of data. Moreover, the expansion of 4G and 5G technologies is causing a significant increase in the volume of unstructured data, such as call detail records (CDR), scanned copies of financial information, and voice calls. This element increases the IT & telecom sector's demand for tape storage.

Recent Developments

• 2022- Dell Technologies Inc. announced the introduction of the latest software like PowerStore, PowerMax, and PowerFlex to deliver faster insights, better multi-cloud data control, and increased cyber resiliency at no cost to existing customers.
• 2022- Object Management GroupÒ announced Responsible Computing, a new consortium comprising technology innovators to work towards sustainable development goals. IBM and Dell are the founding members.