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Plasmon Research Highlights Disparities in the Energy Consumption of Data Archiving Technologies
Added: (Tue Mar 06 2007)
UDO Archive Appliance up to 38 times more energy efficient than some magnetic disk archives
Cambridge, UK, XXth March 2007 – Plasmon (LSE: PLM), the trusted source in archiving systems, today announced the release of a new report on the financial costs and environmental impact of different data archiving strategies. The results indicate that the power costs of a ten-year archiving strategy utilising leading magnetic disk archive technologies could be as much as £750,000, whereas a similarly configured strategy using Plasmon’s Archive Appliance, based on UDO (Ultra Density Optical) technology, just £20,000. The carbon footprint of the magnetic disk strategy is calculated to be 207 tonnes of carbon emissions per year, the optical strategy just five tonnes.
To put those figures in context, with a UK per capita average emission of 11 tonnes, the least energy efficient magnetic disk archive strategy equates to the annual carbon emission of almost 19 British residents. In practical terms, this represents the carbon emissions of 172 roundtrip tickets between New York and London, requiring the planting of more than 275 trees to offset.
Plasmon recognises that a major consumer of electrical power is data storage. Rising electricity costs, new legislation on climate change and increased environmental awareness are all factors driving organisations to carefully evaluate the energy consumption of IT infrastructure. Choosing energy efficient IT products and strategies can dramatically reduce rising electricity bills and improve operational efficiencies while developing environmentally responsible corporate policies.
“Data that needs to be retained but is no longer subject to alteration and only infrequently accessed should be considered for archiving. Energy consumption varies dramatically between storage technologies. Magnetic disk technology is exceptionally power hungry, yet many companies place all their archive data on magnetic disk,” said Steve Tongish, marketing director EMEA at Plasmon. “When evaluating the best strategy for archiving data, all available data storage technologies should be carefully evaluated. Optical media does not require constant spinning and therefore uses much less energy than a magnetic disk based archive.”
The greener architecture of Plasmon’s UDO Archive Appliance combines the strengths of magnetic disk with optical technology, consuming up to 38 times less energy than some leading magnetic disk archive technologies, enabling organisations to be compliant, save business costs and meet their environmental objectives.
To see how the figures were calculated and learn more about the relative environmental impact of archive storage technologies, download Plasmon’s Green Archival Storage whitepaper: http://www.udoarchiveappliance.com/
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About Plasmon
For more than 20 years Plasmon has been the trusted source for professional archive solutions with demanding commercial and public sector organizations worldwide. Plasmon’s UDO Archive Appliance and G-Series libraries provide unmatched data longevity and unquestioned record authenticity for the long-term access and preservation of valuable business information. Plasmon solutions enable companies to meet regulatory obligations and manage risk associated with record retention, while providing competitive advantage through fast access to archived data. Founded in 1984, Plasmon is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: PLM). Worldwide headquarters are in Cambridge, United Kingdom, and U.S. headquarters are located in Broomfield, Colorado. For more information, visit www.plasmon.com.
Plasmon and UDO are registered trademarks of Plasmon Plc. Copyright 2007
For further information and photography, please contact:
James Farquharson/Sally Whatley
Goode International Ltd
Tel: +44 (0) 1491 873323
E-mail: sally.whatley@goode.co.uk
Sally Fisher
Plasmon
Tel: +44 (0) 1763 262963
E-mail: sfisher@plasmon.co.uk