Alliance Storage Technologies Offers Upgrade to End of Life Magneto Optical Discs

Alliance Storage Technologies, Inc. (ASTI) has announced the release of several affordable and easy-to-implement upgrade programs for users stranded by Magneto Optical (MO) media end of life.

5,25″ MO disk

The media, primarily utilized by long-term data archiving applications, has been discontinued leaving dependent customers in a predicament. Sony, the last to manufacture MO optical storage media, has ceased production in all formats (9.1GB, 5.2GB, 2.6GB) signifying end-of-life for the product. All remaining MO media inventory is selling quickly and will be completely unavailable in the near future.

The company, with its knowledge of optical libraries and media technology (including MO), has developed upgrade paths that enable MO users to continue archiving operations with minimal impact.

“Customers using MO media face a variety of challenges and report being affected both operationally and financially. Our upgrade programs have been developed specifically for these stranded customers and can enable them to continue utilizing their investments in MO technology, or move to more current optical archiving solutions,” explained Chris Carr, CEO.

MO media is an early generation of optical technology which has long been considered an excellent choice for long-term data archiving. Data written permanently to the media is still retrievable and readable; however, with all the new advancements in optical technology, MO has been replaced by higher-capacity media with improved transfer speeds.

“Businesses and organizations with MO archiving solutions are clearly faced with a transition. Options include migrating completely to a new optical or hybrid technology, or deploying new technology in parallel with the existing MO library solution and risks vary depending upon the strategy deployed. Our clearly delineated programs will enable clients to choose the upgrade path that best support their current and future archiving requirements,” added Tim Summers, VP.

Service and support are key aspects of the new upgrade programs. As optical data archiving experts, ASTI has been maintaining and servicing legacy optical libraries utilizing Sony MO drives, such as Plasmon M-series, IBM, and HP, for decades. The company indicates that regular service results in greater ROI for systems 10 to 20 years old. Technical support, service and parts are available through the company for businesses and organizations that still have these libraries in production.

As an extension of the programs, company’s technical experts are available for a one-time, no-cost consultation to support clients with their decision making process. Customers can submit their current configurations for analysis and schedule a consultation to discuss upgrade program options by clicking here.

The company advises that every system configuration is different and upgrades strategies may vary between applications, however, the company is available to assist users with future planning.

Following MO library models (in several versions) are affected:

• HP Surestore

• Plasmon M-series

• Plasmon G-series

• IBM 3995

• IBM I-series