A media maniac´s answer to where storage will be in 2000

This paper is intended to help buyers invest in system components today even though they are faced with the absolute fact that many of these components will be outdated by 2000. A basic question is how many generations of drives and media will come to market in that period of time, and whether or not today´s decision will be tomorrow´s regret. Most people in the information technology industry recognize that data recorders and media change every 18 to 24 months. This impacts the user community because system upgradeability is a reality and has long been a major concern. One precaution a user can take is to have vendor assurance that as drive technologies change, the new systems will be able to read back at least two generations of media. Future generations of recording devices and media are in the laboratories today. If a user can project what kind of storage requirements he will have in the future, he should develop a business strategy centered on an awareness of the autoloader market, the future of recording technology, and the projected improvements in media capacity. This paper will focus on viable system components that should still be in place in 2000