Features - Enterprise Data Insights:

IMATION CELEBRATES 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF MAGNETIC TAPE TECH

Imation Corp, a worldwide leader in removable data storage media, is commemorating the 50th anniversary of the first data storage tape introduced commercially in 1953, and its own half-century as a manufacturer of tape media. Imation also will chart the future of removable data storage media and the mission to get to one-terabyte cartridges by the end of the decade.

Coinciding with Imation's event, The Tape Technology Council -- a group of leading tape drive and media manufacturers -- will host a roundtable with prominent industry analysts and editors to discuss the contributions, role, value, importance, challenges and future of tape storage.

Imation was formed in 1996 as a spin-off from 3M Corp of several separate businesses, including the data storage division, which carried with it intellectual property, assets and experience in data storage dating back to 1947. It was in that year that 3M began developing a magnetic memory medium. In 1952, at the dawn of "commercial electronic computing machines," 3M's tape group provided the tape media for IBM's newly invented and first-of-its-kind magnetic tape storage drive called the Model 726. The tapes stored data on seven tracks with a recording density of 100 bits per inch (bpi) and delivered the digital information at a data transfer rate of 7.5 kilobits per second (kb/sec). The storage capacity was a little more than one megabyte, about the capacity of today's diskettes. The new magnetic tape was the first of its kind capable of storing digital information.

The new medium would eventually supersede the punch card and usher in a new generation of digital storage technology. Today, high-end tape cartridges have more than 500 data tracks that store up to 200,000 bits per inch. Speed of data transfer has increased 30,000 fold to 30 megabytes per second (MB/sec) and capacity has increased almost 200,000 fold to more than 200 gigabytes in a single cartridge -- with terabyte and multi-terabyte cartridges by the end of the decade. A terabyte of data is roughly the equivalent of the digital text of a million books -- or, the contents of a university library -- a million times the capacity of the first data storage tape.

"The introduction of tape as the first practical removable data storage media was a key driver in the dramatic expansion of information processing, making use, storage and management of digital information practical and cost effective for most organizations. Today's pervasive digital economy is a direct result of the widespread application of information technology in the commercial environment. Organizations are now able to generate, store and use nearly unlimited information important to their operations. Removable data storage was a critical linchpin in that evolution," said Bill Monahan, Chairman and CEO, Imation Corp. "From 3M's Data Storage Division to Imation today, we have led the way with our partners in advancing tape capacity, speed, performance and durability to meet the trust our customers place in tape media. We are as committed to the future of tape as our customers are -- and as our heritage demonstrates."

"Since the launch of Imation in 1996, we have invested more than $500 million in research and development and capital in our data storage removable media business. We recently announced a $49 million investment in a next generation tape coating facility, which will keep Imation at the forefront of technology as we develop cartridges with capacities of one terabyte and beyond. We are celebrating the long and fruitful relationship we have had with IBM and our other partners in this industry and look forward to working with all our customers and partners in the future to continue to meet our customers' needs," Monahan said.

"Tape has been and still is the most cost-effective way for enterprises to backup and retrieve their data," said Fara Yale, chief analyst, Gartner Dataquest. "With data storage needs doubling every few years for most companies, tape will continue to be a viable solution as it provides end users the capacity, reliability and speed necessary to store and protect the increasing amount of data generated."

"IBM invented the first magnetic tape drive over 50 years ago, working with 3M's data storage division -- now Imation. We continue to advance tape technology by partnering with Imation and other tape technology leaders to innovate on projects such as the 1 terabyte initiative," said John Teale, IBM Distinguished Engineer and Director of Tape Technology at IBM Tucson. "Advancing tape technology provides a roadmap for customers that not only helps protect their current investments, but also serves as one of the best methods for today's increased need for disaster recovery solutions that preserves and protects vital business information."

"Media and drive development have always gone hand in hand, and that has never been more true than today," said Gary Francis, Corporate vice president and General Manager Automated Tape Solutions, StorageTek. "Tape will continue to prove itself as the best option for nearline storage information backup and archiving through increased read/write speed and capacity in the drive, and coordination with and sophistication of the tape cartridge itself."

The industry round-table will be facilitated by Mark Ferelli, editor-in-chief of Computer Technology Review, and consist of representatives from each of the companies that belong to the Tape Technology Council, (EMTEC, Fuji, IBM, Imation, Maxell, Quantum, Seagate, Sony and StorageTek), as well as Bob Abraham of Freeman Reports, Anne Skamarock of Enterprise Management Associates and David Millar of Understanding & Solutions.

For more information about the roundtable and the Tape Technology Council, visit www.tapecouncil.org/.

About Imation

Imation Corp is a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of magnetic and optical removable data storage media. With one of the broadest product lines in the industry -- spanning from a few megabytes to hundreds of gigabytes of capacity in each piece of media, Imation serves customers in more than 60 countries, in both business and consumer markets. From large data centers to distributed networks, Imation's tape cartridges are used in data processing, security, business continuity, backup and archiving applications. Customer needs for reliability, convenience and portability to store and manage business data, photos, video, images and music on professional and home desktops and increasingly in consumer electronics devices drive demand for Imation's optical and diskette products. With more than 300 technology scientists and nearly 300 patents in the U.S. alone, Imation continues to pioneer today's proven magnetic and optical media technologies.

As of September 30, Imation employed approximately 2,800 people worldwide. Revenues from outside the U.S. contribute approximately 49 percent of total sales. Additional information about Imation is available on the company's Web site at www.imation.com, or by calling 888-466-3456.

Contact: Jennifer Waymire of Imation Corp, 651-704-3480, or jwaymire@imation.com.