Former Facebook server master Frank Frankovsky is now part of Sony's data storage innovation efforts to provide better filing systems to its network of corporate data centers.
"We are thrilled to be part of Sony," said CEO of OAI Frank Frankovsky on May 27, 2015.
The technology brings an array of benefits to Sony's clients, such as increased savings and prolonged hardware sustainability.
"Optical disc libraries will provide many advantages to customers who are currently using tape or hard drive technology to store cold data, such as lower costs, extremely durable media life, and higher data throughput rates," Sony Deputy President for Device Solutions Business Group Terushi Shimizu said.
An archiving solution that leverages compressed optical disks to keep and collate data for a stretched timeframe, Computer Output To Laser Disk (COLD) storage system is also trusted by Facebook to efficiently save and retrieve important user memorabilia.
"With the freedom to build an end-to-end system entirely optimized for us, we decided to reimagine the conventional data center building itself, as well as the hardware and software within it. The result was a new storage-based data center built literally from the ground up, with servers that power on as needed, managed by intelligent software that constantly verifies and rebalances data to optimize durability."
"Two of these cold storage facilities have opened within the past year, as part of our data centers in Prineville, Oregon, and Forest City, North Carolina."
As Forbes already anticipated in 2014, the COLD storage trend is imminent.
"The rapid increase in content for cold storage, particularly in cloud storage environments (especially with consumer content) is leading to a new emphasis on cold storage archiving," data storage specialist Tom Coughlin forecasted in his 2014 Forbes article.
"A number of technologies are vying for a part of this growing archive market. Cold storage is becoming a hot topic."
Sony's partnership with OAI promises better storage solutions to companies.
"Merging Sony's excellence in optical engineering and manufacturing with OAI's experience and capabilities in data center hardware design and operations will deliver innovative new storage solutions to customers."
Wall Street Journal said that the multinational electronics giant "is taking a step outside its comfort zone" with this merger.
