SPhotonix debuts at Library of Congress Designing Storage Architecture event
Date: Tuesday 10th March 2026
Date: Tuesday 10th March 2026
Yesterday, March 9 2026, SPhotonix CEO, Ilya Kazansky, spoke at the Library of Congress event on ‘Designing Storage Architecture’. Personally invited, Ilya shared how SPhotonix’s groundbreaking FemtoEtch(™) technology is providing durable and secure data storage that is high in density and longevity, a must-need for the escalating issues for archival and digital preservation.
The Library of Congress has a significant interest in preserving digital data, archives and artefacts in its role as the national library of the United States and the largest library in the world. Founded in 1800, it serves as the research arm of Congress and houses over 175 million items, including books, recordings, photographs, maps, and manuscripts.
Key themes from the invite-only meeting from contributors including Carl Watts representing Library of Congress, Alicia Wise from Digital Preservation Coalition, John Munroe speaking for Further Market Research and industry expert, Brad Johns who collectively centered on the need for continuous or perpetual migration for data storage, the clear fact how AI is exploding the data storage market and that current storage architecture is no longer fit for purpose. They also addressed the need for a growing market and new solutions to solve the storage challenges.
AI is triggering what is known as Vertical Market Failure (VMF) when infrastructure falls behind market demand. Currently the HDD and tape development roadmap progress is not sufficient thereby causing supply shortages which have increased dramatically which is having a similar effect on price.This is now forcing redesign of storage architecture and data centers, in anticipation of 527 ZB of data that will need to be stored by 2029.
Storage industry annual shipments are set for exponential growth to 2030 and continued growth in the following decades. From an EB of 2,086 in current times, to a predicted 42,917 EB in 2050, emerging storage technologies such as 5D optical data storage will become a major component within the next 5 years. These five years are also predicted to see a CAGR of 28.4%.
Taking to the stage, SPhotonix CEO, Ilya Kazansky shared how proven 5D Optical Data Storage is one of the most viable and strong options for cold data storage both now and in the future:
“We see first-hand the challenges that the data storage industry has right now and over the next few years. Not only with the short lifespan and fallibility of HDD and tape, but with the impact of AI technology and IoT.
We are challenged, as other emerging technologies are as well, to deliver on price, performance, capacity, reliability and availability, and security. With over 30 years of R&D behind us, and proven commercial use cases, our 5D Memory Crystal data storage solution using FemtoEtch(™) technology, more than meets these criteria.
By working together now with partners, we are actively able to bring industry-grade capacity and capability in the next 2-3 years that delivers for all future archival and data storage needs.”
Speaking alongside Ilya in Washington were representatives from IBM, Seagate and Microsoft. The latter updated on significant progress at Project Silica, culminating in the publication of an article in Nature, leading to Microsoft remaining convinced that glass based is the leading candidate for the future of active and dynamic archive data storage technology.
Full access to the meeting with presentations is available on the Library of Congress website.
The Library of Congress has a significant interest in preserving digital data, archives and artefacts in its role as the national library of the United States and the largest library in the world. Founded in 1800, it serves as the research arm of Congress and houses over 175 million items, including books, recordings, photographs, maps, and manuscripts.
Key themes from the invite-only meeting from contributors including Carl Watts representing Library of Congress, Alicia Wise from Digital Preservation Coalition, John Munroe speaking for Further Market Research and industry expert, Brad Johns who collectively centered on the need for continuous or perpetual migration for data storage, the clear fact how AI is exploding the data storage market and that current storage architecture is no longer fit for purpose. They also addressed the need for a growing market and new solutions to solve the storage challenges.
AI is triggering what is known as Vertical Market Failure (VMF) when infrastructure falls behind market demand. Currently the HDD and tape development roadmap progress is not sufficient thereby causing supply shortages which have increased dramatically which is having a similar effect on price.This is now forcing redesign of storage architecture and data centers, in anticipation of 527 ZB of data that will need to be stored by 2029.
Storage industry annual shipments are set for exponential growth to 2030 and continued growth in the following decades. From an EB of 2,086 in current times, to a predicted 42,917 EB in 2050, emerging storage technologies such as 5D optical data storage will become a major component within the next 5 years. These five years are also predicted to see a CAGR of 28.4%.
Taking to the stage, SPhotonix CEO, Ilya Kazansky shared how proven 5D Optical Data Storage is one of the most viable and strong options for cold data storage both now and in the future:
“We see first-hand the challenges that the data storage industry has right now and over the next few years. Not only with the short lifespan and fallibility of HDD and tape, but with the impact of AI technology and IoT.
We are challenged, as other emerging technologies are as well, to deliver on price, performance, capacity, reliability and availability, and security. With over 30 years of R&D behind us, and proven commercial use cases, our 5D Memory Crystal data storage solution using FemtoEtch(™) technology, more than meets these criteria.
By working together now with partners, we are actively able to bring industry-grade capacity and capability in the next 2-3 years that delivers for all future archival and data storage needs.”
Speaking alongside Ilya in Washington were representatives from IBM, Seagate and Microsoft. The latter updated on significant progress at Project Silica, culminating in the publication of an article in Nature, leading to Microsoft remaining convinced that glass based is the leading candidate for the future of active and dynamic archive data storage technology.
Full access to the meeting with presentations is available on the Library of Congress website.
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