The cloud has garnered a lot of attention in recent years as the ostensible data storage format of the future, but those claims often overlook the technological limitations that prevent it from being a long-term solution. The concern for data storage longevity came into sharp focus when Facebook – the tech-savvy, social media giant – recently unveiled a prototype archiving system built upon Blu-ray discs. One might think that Facebook officials would embrace cloud-based methods of storage to compile the organization’s large amount of profile information. However, the social media provider opted to utilize the Blu-ray format instead due to its cost-effectiveness, durability and reliability.

A misperception lingers among both novice end users and veteran IT workers that virtualized and cloud-based systems feature near infinite capacity capabilities. This could not be further from the truth. Servers can be taxed and pushed to their limit, placing a cap on how much data can be stored through a given cloud provider without paying a high premium. Furthermore, the potential for these servers to go offline at a moment’s notice should give potential users pause, as there is no guarantee that information stored through the cloud will be accessible when needed.

Meanwhile, Blu-ray features an unparalleled scalability for data archiving, allowing individuals to back up as much as they wish at a moment’s notice. Facebook, for instance, uses approximately 10,000 discs to hold a petabyte of data with its prototype cold storage system, according to Ars Technica.

“I think that the media suppliers, especially after all of the community excitement around it with Open Compute, they see a huge opportunity here,” said Facebook vice president Frank Frankovsky. “Economies of scale could take over really quickly, and they could start producing those discs for the Open Compute community at much lower cost than they do today because, believe it or not, this is one of those areas where really high-capacity Blu-ray discs are in relatively low demand on the consumer side and in relatively high demand on the data center side.”

Blu-ray moves forward as data archiving solution
The increasing demand for high-capacity Blu-ray storage was further reflected in Sony and Panasonic’s joint unveiling of a forthcoming disc capable of holding as much as 1TB of data. As Geek.com noted, most consumer Blu-ray models come in 25GB or 50GB varieties, while the largest available tops out at 128GB. A bump to 1TB would provide a great deal more space for users to back up their various crucial documents and files. Sony and Panasonic have made it clear that this format is intended for long-term storage, referring to the new product as “Archival Disc.” The summer 2015 arrival of this new tool should be met with considerable interest from the archiving sector.

With Facebook, Sony and Panasonic all throwing their support behind Blu-ray, it’s clear that this format will remain an attractive and viable option as a data archiving solution for consumers and business users alike. For those individuals who want to begin backing up their important and irreplaceable documents right away, DIGISTOR has the high-quality media, hardware and software needed to reliably archive their files.

DIGISTOR’s Blu-ray data archiving solutions cover every asset users will need to begin backing up their information without delay, including discs, burners and required programs. By combining these tools, individuals can quickly, conveniently and – most importantly – accurately copy their priceless photos, videos, music or personal documents without worrying about the longevity of their archiving platform. DIGISTOR’s Blu-ray discs are built for the long haul, ensuring that data remains available for years to come. Furthermore, because this technology features unparalleled scalability at a cost-effective rate, users can copy as much information as they need without breaking a sweat. This allows customers to enjoy a level of redundancy that will virtually eliminate the possibility of lost or corrupted data.