Compare
Vaulted Tape vs. Tape Kept On Site
You already own the tapes. The question is only where they sleep, and whether the same event can take both the systems and the backups.
Bring your retention schedule. We will tell you what it actually costs to meet it.
Side by side
| Category | Intervault Media | On-Site Tape |
|---|---|---|
| Same-event loss | Separate hardened site | Fire, flood or theft takes primary and backup together |
| Climate | 70°F ±2°, 50% RH ±5% continuously | Server room conditions, which fail over long weekends |
| Retrieval speed | Scheduled, plus 24/7 emergency | Immediate. On-site wins here |
| Rotation discipline | Fixed schedule, scanned at every handoff | Depends on a person remembering |
| If that person leaves | Unaffected | Rotation quietly stops and nobody notices for months |
| Cost | Recurring per cartridge | Effectively free, until it is not |
| Audit evidence | Timestamped custody per cartridge | A spreadsheet, at best |
Our view
The honest verdict
On-site tape genuinely wins on retrieval speed, and for a small shop with a real fire safe it is not indefensible. It fails on the one scenario backups exist for: an event that takes the building. Keep the most recent set on site and vault everything else.
Other comparisons
Air-Gapped Vault vs. Cloud-Only Backup
Cloud backup is faster, cheaper per terabyte, and easier to test. It is also reachable, and that is the whole argument.
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Local Vault vs. a National Records Vendor
The national vendors are competent and enormous, and for a multi-state footprint they are usually the right call. For a South Florida business the trade is different.
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Media Vault vs. a Self-Storage Unit
It happens more than you would think — a unit down the road, a padlock, and a box of tapes. It fails on three separate grounds.
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See the vault before you decide.
Tours are private and by appointment. You will see the vault door, the man-trap entry, and the box sizes in person. No account relationship is required to visit.