Tape storage is not dead yet - but $300 LTO-10 cartridges and inflated exabyte numbers won't help its cause

• LTO tape sets new capacity record with 176.5 exabytes shipped
• Compression inflates numbers masking real 70.6EB uncompressed data capacity
• LTO-10 costs rise threatening tape’s long-standing affordability advantage

The LTO Program, backed by HPE, IBM, and Quantum, has reported a new high in tape capacity shipments, with 176.5 Exabytes of LTO media shipped in 2024.

The announcement says this marks the fourth straight year of growth for the tape format, driven by expanding hybrid cloud strategies and the demands of AI and machine learning infrastructure.

The figure, though, comes with an asterisk. The 176.5EB is a compressed capacity total, not the raw figure. Based on the LTO program’s standard 2.5:1 compression ratio, the uncompressed total is closer to 70.6EB. That’s the actual amount of real data the tapes could hold if compression doesn’t apply.

Pricing hurdles

Since compression depends on data type - some files compress well, others like video or encrypted data barely at all - these numbers can be misleading in terms of practical storage delivered.

“Setting a new growth record for the fourth year in a row, LTO tape technology continues to prove its longevity as a leading enterprise storage solution,” said Bruno Hald, General Manager, Secondary Storage, Quantum.

“Organizations navigating their way through the AI/ML era need to reconfigure their storage architectures to keep up, and LTO tape technology is an essential piece of the puzzle for those seeking a cost-friendly, sustainable, and secure solution to support modern technology implementation and the resulting data growth. We look forward to introducing the next iteration of LTO tape technology this year to bring enhanced storage capabilities to the enterprise,” he added.

Those “cost-friendly” advantages are coming under pressure, however.

LTO-10, the latest generation of tape, carries a high price tag, with cartridges selling for between $275 and $315. That puts it just over 2x the cost per (native) terabyte compared to earlier versions, and while the capacity of LTO-10 is higher, the speed remains the same as LTO-9.

Phil Goodwin of IDC sees LTO as part of a broader strategy. “Tape’s unique combination of scalability, cost-efficiency, and cyber resilience makes it a valuable component for enterprises,” he said.

While tape still offers long-term value, especially as part of a tiered storage model, the price of LTO-10 may slow adoption.

For many businesses, spending hundreds per cartridge could be difficult to justify when lower-cost options like cloud cold storage continue to expand.

The LTO Program emphasizes tape’s offline resilience and low energy draw, but its strongest selling point has always been price.

At $315 for 30TB native storage, that’s a tougher story to tell.

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