Although we have been dealing with acid-based paper, fax paper, photo film and other fragile media for decades, the risks posed by magnetic and optical media are qualitatively different. They are the first reusable media and they can deteriorate fairly rapidly, making the time frame for decisions and actions to prevent loss a matter of years, not decades. In addition to the challenge of media deterioration is the problem of obsolescence in retrieval and playback technologies. Innovation in the computer hardware, storage, and software industries continues at a rapid pace, yielding greater storage and processing capacities at lower cost. Devices, processes, and software for recording and storing information are being replaced with new products and methods on a regular cycle, driven primarily by market forces.
Records created in digital form are vulnerable to technological obsolescence.
Even though some optical disk technologies promise life spans of up to 100 years, many authorities argue that enhanced media longevity is of questionable value because current media outlast the software and devices needed to read them. With moderate care, most magnetic media will last for 10 years. With special storage and handling, digital magnetic tape formats can reliably store information for 30 years or more. Research by Kodak also shows that CD-ROM media is estimated to last for over 100 years. We know that floppy disks are not recommended for archival storage, but they are commonly used to store data from PCs.