Data Backup Digest

When Frank Frankovsky left his position as a hardware chief with Facebook in 2014, he had his sights set big. Focusing on his own venture, a company known as Optical Archive, Inc., Frankovsky immediately begin his own foray into the industry. What he could have never expected, however, was the fact that Sony would have their sights set on him. In a recent announcement that was definitely unexpected, Sony publicized the fact that they had purchased Frankovsky’s company.

Optical Archive, Inc. specializes in data backup storage via Blu-ray discs. Meant for use as a cold storage medium, meaning they would not be connected to the Internet in any way, a standard Blu-ray disc boasts a lifespan of up to 100 years when stored in a temperature-controlled environment. While current Blu-ray discs are only capable of storing approximately 50 GB of data, Frankosky hopes to store 300 GB of data by the time his company is ready to launch. According to industry experts, Blu-ray discs should be able to hold as much as 1 TB of data within the next few years.

As many storage companies are focusing on the emerging technology of solid-state storage, Sony hopes to fill an important role in the sector of cold storage. Terushi Shimizu, senior vice president and deputy president of the Device Solutions Business Group with Sony, explained this in a recent interview by saying: “Optical disc libraries will provide many advantages to customers who are currently using tape or hard drive technology to store cold data, such as lower costs, extremely durable media life, and higher data throughput rates. We plan to leverage and expand our existing optical disc production lines in order to accommodate the growing demand for this media.”

Sony fulfills in an important role in the partnership, as well. Offering advanced technologies regarding both optical discs and the related manufacturing processes, the team with Optical Archive will be able to pursue their research and development in a much more efficient and cost-effective manner. They’ll rely on their own knowledge of hardware development, supply chain management and systems integration in order to pave their way for the introduction of new archival solutions to the market.

Frankovsky didn’t settle on Sony immediately, however. He took some time to shop his company around, but it only made sense to go with Sony in the end. They did, after all, pioneer the Blu-ray disc in the first place.

“We are thrilled to be part of Sony,” said Frankovsky. “Merging Sony’s excellence in optical engineering and manufacturing with OAI’s experience and capabilities in data center hardware design and operations will deliver innovative new storage solutions to customers.”

Specific financial details of the acquisition have not been released at the time of this writing. To find out more information about Sony, including details on any of their current products or services, please visit their official website at www.sony.com. Alternately, Sony is also active on today’s most popular social networking sites.