Storage upstart trumpets cheap disk archive device

Copan Systems, a relatively new player in the storage business, having only been around since 2002, has introduced a disk-based archiving system that it claims offers the performance, availability and data protection of disk at the price and scale of tape.

The Revolution 200T is purpose-built for write once – read occasionally applications, delivering 2-3 times the density of tape, and 10 times faster data access than tape.

The system, which is designed to fit into current IT environments, is targeted toward backup/restore and scientific research applications.

"Our vision is to change the way long term digital data is stored and accessed. The majority of Fortune 500 enterprises are currently caught in a stranglehold between the cost-benefit of tape, the growing business costs of tape-based access, and the high price and lack-of-scalability of disk-based storage," said Dave Davenport, Copan's president and CEO. "We have combined the best of tape and the best of disk in the Revolution 200T to fill the hole in the storage hierarchy."

With most large enterprises currently keeping 85 percent or more of their business data on tape, a large market exists for Copan to tap, as enterprises are required to keep more data available for faster backup and recovery, scientific research and legal requirements.

Copan has priced the system at US$3.50 per gigagbyte, which is still slightly higher that tape, but upon factoring in benefits such as faster data retrieval, Copan says the total cost of ownership (TCO) comes in at up to 20 percent less than tape.

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