Storing data for centuries

Byte and Switch : Storage managers understand the difficult challenge of preserving data for the long haul. Paper fades. Tapes break. Disks become flaky. Few storage technologies can stand up to natural or other types of disasters. Technologies and protocols evolve or are replaced by entirely new types of storage. Do you still have important data stored on floppy disks? Probably not.

There really aren’t many options for very long-term backup and storage. Most IT managers are resigned to migrating crucial data from one storage medium to another as technology evolves. One company, however, Norsam Technologies Inc. of Hillsboro, Ore., offers an unusual approach to preserving data, one that isn’t of much use to enterprise IT managers right now. But that may change if the technology evolves.

Norsam uses a focused ion beam to micro-etch human-readable analog information on nickel disks that are designed to last thousands of years, perhaps as long as 10,000 years, according to Norsam president John Bishop.