London adds tape archive choice for Geyser Data users

Spectra Logic and Geyser Data have launched a tape-as-a-service archive deployment in London, the first European location available through the Geyser Data portal.

The site is live and available immediately for customers archiving long-term data. Users can now choose London alongside an existing archive location in Los Angeles.

The move extends the companies’ tape-based archive offering into Europe as demand grows for lower-cost long-term storage for cold data that is rarely accessed but must be retained for extended periods. The London site gives customers another regional option for keeping archive data closer to their operations.

Spectra Logic provides the tape library infrastructure and archive technology behind the service, while Geyser Data supplies the software layer and cloud platform through which customers access storage. The service uses an Amazon S3-compatible interface, allowing organisations to connect archive storage to established cloud workflows.

Regional Expansion

The companies are targeting organisations that want the economics of tape storage without operating tape libraries on their own sites. They are also seeking to attract hosting providers that can deploy archive infrastructure in local markets and offer the service through Geyser Data’s platform.

The structure is designed to create a broader network of provider-operated archive sites across regions. Local operators run the infrastructure, while customers access it through the same portal.

The London deployment is hosted in a Digital Realty facility, providing a carrier-neutral interconnection environment and connectivity options for archive workflows, hybrid environments and large data transfers.

The expansion comes as some businesses reassess the cost of keeping large volumes of inactive data in mainstream cloud archive tiers. While cloud archiving can reduce the need for on-site hardware, retrieval, egress and application programming interface charges can make long-term costs harder to predict.

Some organisations still use their own tape libraries to control archive spending. Spectra Logic and Geyser Data are positioning their service as a third option that combines off-site tape infrastructure with cloud-style access.

According to the companies, the service is aimed at both existing tape library users and businesses more accustomed to cloud storage. The main selling point is a cloud-based archive copy with pricing designed to avoid unexpected retrieval-related costs.

Nelson Nahum, Chief Executive Officer of Geyser Data, said the London launch showed the model could expand into additional markets through local providers.

“London is an important milestone because it demonstrates that tape-as-a-service can scale into new markets through a growing provider ecosystem. Organisations are looking for archive infrastructure that is purpose-built for long-term cold data retention with predictable economics. At the same time, service providers want a practical way to deliver those capabilities locally. Expanding to London gives customers more geographic choice and validates that this model works,” said Nahum.

Storage Costs

The use of tape in modern archive systems reflects a broader effort in the storage industry to separate frequently used data from data kept mainly for compliance, backup or historical reference. Tape remains widely used for deep archive because of its low media cost and long storage life, despite slower retrieval speeds than disk-based systems.

By wrapping tape infrastructure in a service model with an S3-compatible interface, providers can present it in a form that more closely resembles public cloud storage. That may appeal to companies that want to keep existing software tools and processes while moving archive data to a lower-cost medium.

Nathan Thompson, Chief Executive Officer of Spectra Logic, said service providers were looking for infrastructure that could support archive services in local markets.

“As demand for long-term data retention continues to grow, providers are looking for reliable infrastructure that can support archive services in their regions. Our tape library platforms and S3-compatible archive technologies power the underlying infrastructure that makes these deployments possible and give providers a proven foundation for delivering scalable cold data archiving,” said Thompson.

The London site is the latest step in Geyser Data’s international rollout. The company recently announced a partnership in Brazil that is expected to lead to another archive deployment, adding to a provider network that now spans North America and Europe.

Customers using the Geyser Data portal can now archive data in either London or Los Angeles.