We are living in an age of explosive data growth. IDC projects that the digital universe is growing 50% a year, doubling in size every 2 years.

In this paper, we will examine how object storage stacks up against LTO tape for media archives and backup. In addition to a detailed total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis covering both capital and operational expenses, this paper will look at the opportunity costs of not leveraging the real-time data access of object storage to monetize existing data.