Perth-based technology start-up Tape Ark has officially launched in the Australian market, through the release of a data storage solution leveraging Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Specialising in modern-day storage solutions, the new-look business provides high-volume migration of ageing corporate data from archive tape media directly to the cloud, through public cloud platforms such as AWS.
Founded by Guy Holmes - a serial entrepreneur based in Western Australia - the company aims to capitalise on the untapped potential of modernising legacy tapes and back-up data.
“It's time to bring the management of archive tape data into the 21st century,” Tape Ark founder and CEO Guy Holmes said. “I have personally seen enough old tapes and heard enough complaining from every corner of the industry about how complicated access to legacy tape can be.
“This solution finally disrupts the age old tape vault storage concept that have become billion dollar businesses out of providing nothing more than air conditioned rooms and courier vans.”
Through the use of Tape Ark’s “scalable and automated” tape migration infrastructure - coupled with public cloud offerings such as AWS’ gateway and Virtual Tape Library (Gateway-VTL) - Holmes said legacy tapes can be migrated to the cloud and then accessed through the company’s client portal.
“These days, paying for offsite tape storage for legacy data is simply crazy,” Holmes added. “It can take days to retrieve and restore data using the old school tape vault and offsite back-up rotation services that are so prolific in the industry.
“And then just getting a tape back from your vault is typically only the start of the painful and time consuming restore process for many companies.”
Instead, Holmes said Tape Ark uses the public cloud as its vault, and the internet as its courier van, cutting access to legacy data down to minutes instead of days as a result.
Alongside providing a complete restore service to customers, the start-up also offers capabilities around Microsoft Azure, explained on the company website as “the cloud platform of choice, if you don’t use AWS”.
“We have readily adopted cloud storage technology in our everyday life – we now listen to music through Spotify and Apple Music in lieu of buying new CDs and storing the physical media,” Holmes added.
“Ditto for the way we now watch films via companies like Netflix and Stan rather than renting a physical DVD from our local Blockbuster store.
“These storage platforms make our music and films more portable, accessible, convenient and secure. Why should corporate data storage be any different?”
With over 20 years experience across the data management market, Tape Ark is the fifth start-up founded by Holmes, who previously managed the recovery and restoration of millions of tapes for organisations such as NASA, The Australian Federal Government and the Ethiopian Government.
“For over 50 years, the offsite storage of physical tape has been the norm,” Holmes added. “It is inefficient and costly and has not had any major innovations since its inception.
“Tape Ark has been designed to disrupt this industry and provide customers with real value for money instead of throwing money away on an expensive air conditioned room for storage.”
