By Phil Wandrei
Product Marketing Manager, Spectra Logic
Whether you’re managing backups, active- or long-term archives, tape media remains the most reliable and cost-effective solution for protecting and preserving data at scale. But not all media is created equal. Spectra® Certified Media stands out as the smart choice, providing superior performance, reliability, a lifetime guarantee and a meticulous certification process that ensures your data’s security and accessibility.
Here are five reasons why choosing Spectra Certified Media over non-certified alternatives is smarter and more economical.
1. Superior Reliability = Operational Efficiency
One of the primary reasons Spectra Certified Media is a smart choice is its exceptional reliability. Each tape undergoes a rigorous seven-step certification process, ensuring dependable, optimal performance. By minimizing data errors and reducing the need for re-writes, Spectra Certified Media optimizes operational efficiency, leading to time and cost savings.
Every certified tape is carefully verified for read/write reliability, meeting strict standards. This meticulous testing avoids the costly interruptions and delays that can occur with non-certified media. With fewer tape failures to manage, you conserve valuable IT resources and boost overall productivity, making Spectra Certified Media an economical, dependable investment.
2. Extended Tape and Drive Life
Non-certified media often contains debris or impurities from the manufacturing process, which can damage your tape drives and media over time. The Spectra proprietary cleaning process ensures that every certified tape is thoroughly cleaned before shipping. This reduces wear and tear on the tapes and the drives, extending their useful life.
In practical terms, this means lower maintenance costs and fewer replacements, offering long-term savings that non-certified media can’t match. Investing in certified media protects your overall IT infrastructure, ensuring it operates smoothly for longer periods without costly downtime or repairs.
3. Time-Saving Features
Time is money. Spectra Certified Media and Spectra TeraPack® magazines are designed to save you both. LTO-9 tapes require calibration, which can take up to 30 minutes per tape. Spectra pre-calibrates its media so your tapes are ready for immediate use upon arrival.
Additionally, Spectra Certified Media can be delivered pre-loaded into TeraPack magazines, each holding ten LTO tape cartridges. This further streamlines media handling chores, reducing the time spent loading individual tapes into a library by 90%. With these time-saving features, Spectra pre-calibrated media and TeraPack magazines allow you to simply “load and go,” significantly reducing operational overhead and freeing staff to focus on critical tasks.
4. Lifetime Guarantee: Risk-Free Investment
Non-certified media may seem cheaper upfront, but what happens when a cartridge fails? You’re left with the cost of replacing it. With Spectra Certified Media, you’ll never face that risk. Spectra offers a lifetime guarantee: if a cartridge fails or proves defective, we’ll replace it with no questions asked.
This risk-free investment provides peace of mind, knowing that your data is secure and any media issues will be swiftly resolved without additional cost. Non-certified media can’t offer this level of assurance.
5. Optimized Media Tracking and Management
Managing extensive tape inventories can be a logistical headache, particularly when using non-certified media. Spectra Certified Media simplifies this process through its Media Lifecycle Management (MLM) system. Each tape includes an embedded Media Auxiliary Memory (MAM) chip, which records over 40 data points about the tape’s health, performance and usage.
This proactive media tracking helps prevent failures before they happen and enables more efficient media management, reducing the time and cost associated with manual monitoring. Non-certified media lacks this advanced tracking capability, making it harder to ensure data reliability.
The Hidden Costs of Non-Certified Media
While non-certified media may seem cheaper initially, the long-term costs from performance issues, calibrating media, maintenance and potential failures can quickly add up. Spectra Certified Media offers better reliability, extended lifespan and a lifetime guarantee, making it a smarter, more cost-effective choice. With enhanced performance, proactive media management and reduced operational overhead, it’s an investment that pays off in the long run—delivering the security and efficiency your organization needs.
Contact Spectra Logic to learn more about Spectra Certified Tape Media.
