How “Digital Microfilm” Prevents Data Loss in Long-Term Records Storage

When you need to prevent data loss for long-term records storage, your options can seem pretty bleak.

Paper copies can be boxed up and warehoused indefinitely but, unless you use offsite storage, they are prone to damage from hurricanes, floods and fires. And offsite storage can be expensive when you need to retrieve documents – they don’t call them “hostage fees” for nothing.

Because of its promise of lasting 500 years and being a much safer option than warehousing paper, many turned to microfilm over the years as their long-term storage solution but it degrades over time, even under near-perfect conditions. And microfilming paper documents today is increasingly uncommon and expensive.

Most would rather digitize all of their documents but, considering the published failure rates of hard drives, how can you trust a digital storage solution when failure is not an option?

So, what should you do? Consider the “digital microfilm” option from Image One, which leverages technology from Nexsan Assureon.

Never Lose a File Again

Assureon is a hybrid system that uses a dual system of storage and real-time integrity checking that is ideal for long-term archiving of unstructured data.

Files are never lost with Assureon because document images are uploaded in two locations in a system that self-corrects for any data corruption, running daily checks and using a mirror copy to repair any degradation or information loss.

Popular with government, financial and healthcare organizations, Nexsan Assureon provides secure, easy-to-use storage with features that guarantee the highest level of data security:

• Fingerprints that are generated every time a file is saved, so history and contents cannot be altered after the fact
• Serial numbers that ensure no files are missing or added inappropriately
• Secure, redundant time source prevents tampering with the system time clock
• Two copies of each file and its fingerprint stored separately
• Data verification that continually checks files against their fingerprints, repairs errors and safeguards for decades
• Remote replication using two active Assureon systems means each system can continuously replicate to the other to protect against site failure
• Self-healing integrity checks reduce the time you now spend on weekly full or daily incremental backups.
• Easy to administer system that can reside on-premise, in the cloud, or both

How Assureon Saved 6 Months Worth of Criminal Case Data

Assureon’s “never lose a file again” mantra was put to the test when a statewide law enforcement agency discovered that their TIER-1 Provider suffered data corruption on a disk that was being managed, backed up and hosted by them. The at-risk data included six months worth of prosecution data that encompassed cases ranging from drugs to domestic violence to homicide. A loss would have threatened multiple pending prosecutions – including that of an accused cop-killer.

Assureon was credited with saving numerous cases. It also likely saved the jobs of the IT director and the CIO, not to mention the reputation of the entire evidence division.

Secure Storage with Peace of Mind Built In

Whether you need storage for days or for decades, Nexsan Assureon provides built-in peace of mind for secure, accurate, cost-effective and easy-to-use record storage. They have never lost a file, had a file corrupted, or unavailable. Contact us to learn more about whether Assureon is right for you.

If you’re not ready for Assureon, but need an alternative to expensive offsite storage or need to find an economical microfilm solution, we can help you with that as well.

Contact us to learn more about how Nexsan Assureon can protect your information