New Data Storage Technologies

Data storage is as old as data itself and is defined as any technology that retains digital data. There are lots of new technologies that are in development that we may see soon or may never see because they’re just too impractical. But one thing is certain: as the creation of data grows and as data use increases exponentially, the need for data storage will also grow. This blog post is meant to give a glimpse into what the data storage future might look like.

Let’s start with two tried-and-true data storage technologies: hard disks and solid-state drives (SSD). Manufacturers of both have increased their storage capacities and improved their access times while lowering costs.

According to the Advanced Storage Technology Consortium, the capacity of hard disk drives will rise to 100TB by 2025, and they’re 15 – 20 years away from being displaced by other technologies.

Shingled Magnetic Recording

One advancement keeping hard disk drives relevant is the use of Shingled Magnetic Recording (SMR). SMR squeezes data tracks closer together on a disk so that they overlap like roofing shingles, which means more data can be saved to the same space. SMR has great potential because it is cost-friendly and needs no new materials to be manufactured because it uses existing disk drive components.

Now, for the fun stuff: new data storage technologies.

Helium Drives

Helium drives are essentially the same hard disk drives we are used to, using the same platters to store data, but the sealed drive is filled with helium gas instead of air. Helium is six times less dense than air and requires less power to spin the disks since there is less resistance.

More evolutionary than revolutionary, helium drives use reliable technology and will become more affordable and thus, more common.

5D Optical Storage

Researchers are developing data storage utilizing quartz glass disks that use lasers to encode and retrieve data in five-dimensions, using multiple disk layers. Disks can store hundreds of terabytes of data and withstand temperatures up to 1800 degrees Fahrenheit, as well as disasters like solar flares or fires.

DNA Storage

DNA is a storage medium that nature created to store biological information. Scientists have cv been able to encode DNA with digital data, including JPEGs, a book written in HTML, and a JavaScript program. DNA can store data equal to 2.2 petabytes per gram.

However, we will probably never see DNA storage because of the specialized equipment needed, and the cost, estimated around $2,000 just to encode 83KB of data.

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