N America News April 2017

10 NORTH AMERICA NEWS / APRIL 2017 , Brian Grainger, CSO of Spectra Logic tells us more about the firm, its humble beginnings and what it is today. Digital Preservation Spectra Logic provides data storage solutions for digital tape, mass storage and converged storage for media and entertainment, federal, video surveillance, enterprise IT and HPC environments in over 50 countries worldwide. A privately held company, Spectra Logic is based in Boulder, CO, with regional headquarters in the UK and Melbourne, Australia and employs more than 450 people. The firm’s manufacturing plant, engineering and service organizations are all located at the headquarters allowing a streamlined process to any and all service escalations. Chief Executive Officer, Nathan Thompson, founded Spectra in 1979 after gathering his last $500 to start buying and reselling used computer equipment from his dorm room. An electrical engineering and computer science student, his investment established Western Automation and laid the foundation for his future growth and success in the IT industry. Brian Grainger joined Spectra Logic in 2001 and currently serves as its Chief Sales Officer. With more than 25 years of experience in the storage industry, Brian is responsible for the overall corporate sales strategy, P&L, territory development and expansion for more than 40 countries around the globe. Brian has been instrumental in shifting Spectra Logic’s focus from a tape-only business to also include disk and object storage solutions. Brian has held several key leadership positions since he joined the company; he formerly served as EVP of worldwide sales and sales operations and vice president of sales for the Americas. Brian also founded multiple vertical divisions within the company, including Spectra Logic Federal in 2003, media and entertainment in 2006, HPC in 2010 and video surveillance in 2015. As a result, the multi- million dollar company’s overall revenue has more than doubled under Brian’s leadership. Previously, Brian held sales, sales management and product management positions with OnStream, Gates/Arrow and Connor Peripherals. Brian tells us more about the company and how it solves the problem of long-term storage for business and technology professionals dealing with exponential data growth. “At Spectra, we allow customers to preserve digital data for decades,” he begins. “We advise customers to implement end-to-end storage solutions that are genetically diverse – meaning multiple copies are kept in different locations and on different media types to preserve data forever and reduce the risk of data loss. “Such Solutions are cost effective in market segments with unpredictable, exponential growths. Increased retention rates in video surveillance; government regulations and SEC financial regulations, HIPAA, increased camera resolutions on M&E, etc. are all driving this data retention requirements and growth, and at Spectra we streamline workflows to reduce complexities.” There are new challenges for data storage, ones which Spectra continuously tries to address and find solutions to. These include: • M&E: With 4K Ultra HD TV formats, storage requirements for 13 episodes of a reality TV show have increased from roughly 114TB to 1.4PB, a 12-fold increase in storage with 8K filming on the way… • VS: The proliferation of security cameras, combined with higher definition, frame rates, and retention times, have created an explosion in video surveillance storage. IHC last estimated (2014) over 245 million security cameras WW with 2.2 EB of storage shipped WW not including storage built into video servers. • Social Media: YouTube’s data creations is estimated to be 1 to 2 EB per year by 2025 • HPC: Genomic DNA sequencing, a small portion of the HPC world, is expected to approach 1 ZB per year in data output by 2025. • General IT: Predictions for data growth in general IT range from 30% to 60% per year – storage budgets are not following that growth rate. With the explosion of data creation, Brian and the team at Spectra have to stay ahead of the curve and deliver more innovative products faster, that scale greatly and reduce costs. “Data explosion is driving technological advancements faster than ever before,” Brian states. “We consistently invest more than 15% of revenues into Research and Development and our product line is designed and developed based directly on customer feedback. We have an intimate knowledge of our customers’ dilemmas and integrate this into all Spectra Logic products. Putting the customers first separates us from the competition. “To stay ahead, we participate in and host customer panels, speaking events, summits and tradeshows annually, and have many active industry memberships. Spectra is well-known for its innovations, and we consistently deliver industry first products in the world of data storage.” With regards to the future, Brian foresees industry challenges ahead, such as ensuring that the firm is focused on the correct markets, especially considering today’s global economic climate, however he also envisions growth for Spectra with the end goal being to be recognized as experts in digital preservation. Awards Spectra Logic has more than 35 years of innovation in storage. With over 80 patents and a strong investment in research and development, Spectra Logic and its products have won many industry awards. 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