With an eventful 2009 drawing to a close, I am inclined to reflect on the many changes that have occurred in the storage industry this year and to look ahead to the possibilities of 2010. Here are a few of my observations:

#1 Disk-based backup has become a core enterprise technology.
Despite the economic downturn, or perhaps because of it, 2009 was a surprisingly positive year for the storage industry. First of all, deduplication has given large enterprises and data-intensive organizations the impetus (and cost justification) to adopt disk-based backup, particularly VTLs, as their core backup technology. EMC’s acquisition of Data Domain sparked a good deal of healthy discussion about the specific needs of the enterprise. For example, industry gurus Steve Duplessie and Curtis Preston comment on the enterprises’ need for grid scalability and high performance backup.

As we move into 2010 and beyond, this demand for disk-based systems that can handle the volume and complexity of enterprise-class data centers will continue, driven by the challenges of protecting burgeoning virtual server environments and complying with stricter regulations.

#2 Move over tapes, VTLs are here to stay.

There has been speculation about a variety of long-term trends in enterprise backup. Whether the discussion is about the emerging role of NAS (see Jerome Wendt’s blog) in enterprises or the use of Cloud storage, VTLs have established their place in the enterprise for the long-term.

#3 The future will continue to be bright.

On a lighter note, if the kids at Hillside School in Needham, Mass. are any indication, our future couldn’t be brighter. SEPATON has the privilege of sponsoring a local FIRST LEGO League Team of fourth and fifth graders who will compete against other local school teams in designing a computer program to navigate a Lego robot through an obstacle course in 90 seconds. FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1989 to inspire young people's interest and participation in science and technology.

This program is building the foundation for our future technology leaders and SEPATON is proud to play a role in the investment toward the innovators of the next generation.