IBM Diamondback Tape Library protects hybrid cloud environments against cyber threats

IBM is extending its portfolio of data resilience solutions with the introduction of the IBM Diamondback Tape Library, a high-density archival storage solution that is physically air-gapped to help protect against ransomware and other cyber threats in hybrid cloud environments.

IBM Diamondback is for organizations needing to securely store hundreds of petabytes of data, both traditional and “new wave” hyperscalers – global enterprises aggregating massive customer data sets. It provides long-term storage and is designed to provide smaller carbon footprint compared to flash or disk storage, and with a lower total cost of ownership.

“With data breaches and ransomware attacks now a constant threat, we are seeing hyperscale enterprises increasingly turning to the data resilience provided by IBM Tape solutions,” said Scott Baker, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of IBM Storage.

“The IBM Diamondback Tape Library provides critical protection against a variety of threats, helping minimize data center floor space requirements and organizations’ carbon footprint. It’s part of the end-to-end data protection and security solution that IBM can deliver.”, Baker continued.

“Driven by an explosion in data volume, ransomware, and increased regulatory and sustainability requirements, hyperscale cloud providers are among the biggest consumers of tape storage, and are predicted to drive tape capacity shipments to new levels in 2023,” said Phil Goodwin, research vice president, IDC.

“IBM’s Diamondback Tape Library is the company’s latest solution for both traditional and cloud hyperscale enterprises. It is designed to deliver on customers’ needs for scalability, sustainability and security with simplicity and self-service.”, Goodwin added.

IBM Diamondback is designed to deliver three main benefits:

• Sustainability: IBM database is designed to reduce power and cooling requirements for a lower carbon footprint versus spinning disk storage, as tapes sit idle in automated libraries consuming no energy until accessed. Tape’s long-term endurance allows storage of data for up to 30 years.
• Ransomware protection and cyber resiliency: Organizations worldwide are pressured to strengthen their defenses against malware and data breaches. Tape provides physically air-gapped isolation to increase resiliency against threats.
• Data capacity and storage costs: IBM Tape is approximately one-quarter the total cost of spinning disk storage and public cloud archival services, creating a cost advantage.

According to a recent IBM IBV study, 48% of CEOs responding across industries say increasing sustainability is one of the highest priorities for their organization in the next two to three years. However, 51% also cite sustainability as among their greatest challenges in that same timeframe.

IBM’s sustainability strategy is driven by an approach that puts sustainability into action by advancing solutions that address climate change and support the transition to a low-carbon economy. As hyperscale cloud providers focus on reducing the environmental footprint of their facilities through lower power consumption, the IBM Diamondback Tape Library is an ally in managing energy efficient infrastructures, built with the same security, scalability, and reliability that is the hallmark of IBM infrastructure.

IBM Diamondback provides cost-effective archival storage for the massive capacity demand of the zettabyte era, supporting vertical markets such as big data, analytics, cloud storage services, the internet of things, healthcare, and life sciences.

These organizations typically generate enormous amounts of high-value unstructured data, much of which is stored as archives awaiting future reference, and can often benefit from an active archive implementation leveraging high capacity, low-cost tape systems.

IBM Storage also made news recently with the announcement of the transition of Red Hat storage to IBM Storage, helping deliver a consistent experience from edge-to-core-to-cloud. IBM also recently announced new cyber resilience products, including IBM Spectrum Sentinel for SAP HANA and IBM Spectrum Protect Plus Online Services for Salesforce.

When combined with expanded IBM Spectrum Archive support for direct access to file and directories stored on tape, these innovations demonstrate IBM’s leadership in the storage market.