Old tape formats pose threat to data recovery

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Many companies could find that data stored on old tape formats is almost impossible to retrieve, according to an expert.

Alastair Molyneux, business development director of data recovery company Kroll Ontrack said that some organisations have electronic data dating back decades and the chances of it being retrieved or rendered inaccessible over time are fairly high.

"Data is increasingly being stored in electronic format and we have seen an exponential increase in recovery requests in the last 20 years," he said. "Companies need to ensure that their houses are in order and everything is backed up properly."

He said that retrieving data that is damaged or inaccessible can be costly and may require special equipment. Molyneux said that by maintaining updated records and data on modern media formats, extraction could be "quick and painless".

"It is important for a company to look at its past as well as its future. By maintaining archives and ensuring data is easily accessible in a modern format, storage costs will decrease, the organisation will be better aligned with compliance regulations and essential information will be easily locatable," he said.

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