The U.S. General Services Administration (USGSA) IT team has recently transitioned 14,000 magnetic tapes, a technology dating back 70 years, into modern digital records, reportedly saving $1 million annually. However, this decision, aimed at modernizing government services, has faced criticism. Detractors highlight the advantages of magnetic tapes, noting their efficiency in data storage and their physical “airgap,” which prevents cybercriminals from accessing the data.
In 2020, IBM published an article addressing the growing reliance on tape-based storage by large companies and educational institutions due to the increasing volume of data on the internet. IBM emphasized that tape storage is cost-effective at just pennies per gigabyte and requires no energy when not in use, unlike hard disks and flash storage. Moreover, if stored correctly, tape data can remain readable for 30 years, ensuring cloud providers have access to essential data as needed.
As the digital landscape evolves, the loss of old websites and social networks results in significant information disappearance, a phenomenon known as “link rot.” Although entities like the Internet Archive work to preserve online content, storage costs contribute to ongoing data loss. Magnetic tapes, being relatively inexpensive, offer a solution to this problem. Today’s magnetic tapes can store approximately 15 terabytes of data, but IBM has been developing new tapes with the potential to hold up to 580 terabytes, indicating continuous advancements in tape technology contrary to some assumptions.
Conversely, cloud servers are expensive to maintain, and hard drives typically last about five to ten years. To prevent data corruption and loss, major companies such as Meta and Google implement RAID backups, though this incurs substantial costs. Ironically, the government’s initiative to cut costs may inadvertently lead to higher expenses.
Furthermore, the concept of “permanent digital records” is somewhat contradictory, as digital media is often transient. The impermanence of digital formats leads some individuals to favor physical copies of their media. XKCD illustrated this challenge with an image that succinctly captures the frustration of digital media’s fleeting nature.
While legacy technology in government systems often becomes the subject of humor, there can be justification for its continued use. If a system is functioning well, there may be little need for unnecessary adjustments.
