At the show, I participated in a panel discussion about tape with other industry leaders in the broadcast space moderated by Clyde Smith of Turner Broadcasting System. We examined the state of storage as it relates to the media and entertainment market. A couple of interesting areas we explored were the role of SSDs in storage and how it improves system performance. We also looked at the future of tape and discussed how vendors today are integrating more intelligence in tape-based solutions. Recent advancements and innovations have improved the quality of tape-based solutions, and I can say with confidence that the quality of tape now matches the quality of disk. With the massive growth of digital content, the most sensible solution is to implement a tiered storage solution that employs a combination of disk and tape to best meet the performance, cost and long-term retention needs for the M&E market.
 

You can access the various presentations from Storage Visions here.
 

In the old western movies, viewers often catch a scene where the cowboy’s horse races away when spooked, and the cowboy must lasso his steed back in. I liken this image to a storage administrator faced with managing growing data sets while simultaneously trying to protect and manage his or her budget. Good news, folks: tape can solve the issues both fronts.
 

Stay tuned for upcoming news around media & entertainment and make sure to catch Spectra Logic at NAB in booth number N6216 this spring.

1.       Attendance was quite good. It was down only 7% from the previous year, which is modest in comparison to other shows these days.

2.       Those who attended were top decision makers with active projects. Sales. We are seeing an increase in market activity despite the poor economy, and have a large pipeline of active archive projects. We see a very active market and are beginning to see a positive energy to release POs as the economy improves.

3.       There are rumors of a location change in 2010. A fresh location would help draw new attendees and generate new energy around IBC

4.       The amount of content in the media and entertainment market continues to grow year-over-year. In order to remain competitive, a number of Spectra and non-Spectra customers are converting old analog content into digital formats. This enables them to repurpose content for delivery via newer and more popular mediums such as IP and mobile, hence providing new revenue opportunities.  

5.       The move to a digital workflow environment is no longer cutting edge. The masses are moving to digital, file-based workflow environments and archive has become an essential piece of that puzzle.
 

Overall, a great show and I am looking forward to next year!