Exclusive: Sony confirms it is scrapping its formidable 5.5TB cartridge storage solution, paving the way for emerging ceramic, silica and DNA storage rivals to take its place
Sony has long been a major player in digital storage technologies. The company introduced the CD in 1982, developed in partnership with Philips, which revolutionized the way data and music were stored and accessed. In 1995, Sony launched the Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), a joint effort with Philips, Toshiba and Panasonic. This was followed in 2006 by the Blu-ray Disc, which offered even greater storage capacity suitable for high-definition video and data.
In 2014, the company, in collaboration with Panasonic, introduced a new optical storage format for professionals: the Archival Disc, which could store up to 300 GB of data.
It has been clear for some time that Sony would stop its older optical solutions. The company has indicated that it plans to gradually stop the production of recordable discs, including Blu-ays. Earlier, the company announced that it wants to cut a significant number of jobs at its optical media factory in northeastern Japan.
Alternatives take a step forward
“The growth of the cold storage market has not met our expectations and the performance of the storage media business as a whole remains in the red,” a Sony Group spokesman said. “We have determined that it is necessary to review the business structure to improve profitability.”
Another victim of this move is Sony’s Optical Disc Archive Cartridges. Generation 3 of the product, announced in 2020, features a 5.5TB capacity thanks to a double-sided disc with three layers per side for write-once recording. This latest incarnation (and coincidentally the last) offers a much larger capacity than Generation 2, released in 2016 (3.3TB), and the first release, introduced in 2013, which came in various capacities up to 1.5TB.
Sony’s move will mostly affect consumers, as the company says it will continue to sell B2B products from existing inventory. It has been producing enough to meet demand for some time now, but if you rely on optical storage, you may want to stock up now.
A number of tech companies are working on alternative forms of storage that could fill the void left by the decline of optical technology. These include ceramic, silica (quartz glass) and DNA-based storage.