"Digital information lasts forever - or five years, whichever comes first."
Jeff Rothenberg, Scientific American, January, 1995

Having an imaging system backed up on tape, magnetic disks, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or other computer-based systems does not assure permanent access to archived data.

"Average-quality CD-ROMs become unreliable - some can be read, some can't -- after five years. And even when tapes and disks remain intact, the hardware and software needed to read them may no longer be available."
U.S. News & World Report, February 16, 1998.

All magnetic media are effected by environmental influences, including the Earth's magnetic field and must be periodically "refreshed" to avoid losing data. Other formats require expensive and time-consuming "migrations" to new formats to ensure continued accessibility. Media instability and changes in technology are the two main threats to the continued accessibility of information stored on CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, Optical Platters and similar formats. In as little as five years, some information stored on digital media could be irrevocably lost. The Micrographic Sciences' solution aligns the storage medium to the expected life span of the information, often combining shorter term systems such as RAID, CD-ROM or DVD-ROM for immediate use with an ASM-ROM system to extend the life of your information.

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