Product: Iomega Rev Autoloader 1000 Price: $22,000 Pros: Eight major storage software vendors in the Windows, Unix and Linux communities support the Rev drive Cons: With so much investment made by companies over the years, tape-based storage will not disappear soon
Overworked information technology systems administrators deserve to get some cool new gear this Christmas.
Their corporate chieftains should consider a modest bump in the IT budget to make backup and disaster recovery chores easier for techies.
They might also consider data storage specialist Iomega's new Rev Autoloader 1000.
This product was designed to replace the Small Computer System Interface-standard tape autoloaders and other backup devices used by small and medium-sized businesses in their networks.
It also reinvents the autoloader setup by using the Rev drive, a removable hard disk-drive system engineered to last for more than 30 years, and inexpensive 35-gigabyte Rev discs as the core backup technology.
A Rev-based autoloader accomplishes two highly desirable goals in one stroke: it eliminates the frustrations associated with tape and it reduces the backup window for more efficient management of the network.