Why Traditional Tiering and Archiving Approaches Are Failing Modern IT

Every organization is generating data at unprecedented speed. But here’s the uncomfortable truth most IT teams already know: the majority of that data becomes inactive within weeks or months. And yet, inactive files continue to sit in expensive primary storage, consuming resources, driving up infrastructure costs, and quietly expanding your risk surface.

The problem isn’t that companies lack awareness. It’s that traditional data tiering and archiving methods weren’t designed for modern data growth, modern security threats, or modern operational expectations. As a result, businesses are overspending on storage while unknowingly exposing themselves to compliance, security, and operational risks.

In this article, we’ll break down why inactive data is such a costly liability, why legacy tiering and archiving approaches aren’t solving the problem, and how modern solutions are changing the game.

The Hidden Cost of Inactive Data

1. Storage Costs Are Climbing Faster Than Data Budgets

Primary storage is premium, and its cost scales rapidly. When 60–80% of the data sitting on these production systems hasn’t been accessed in months (or years), companies end up paying high-performance prices for low-value files.

Inactive data strains:

• Primary storage arrays
  
• Backup systems
  
• Replication targets
  
• Disaster recovery infrastructure
  

In other words: you’re not just storing inactive data once—you’re paying for it again and again across multiple systems.

2. Inactive Data Expands Your Attack Surface

Legacy files aren’t just a financial burden—they’re a security liability. Inactive and forgotten data often contains sensitive information that’s not governed or monitored as closely as active workloads.

This increases exposure to:

• Ransomware attacks
  
• Insider threats
  
• Data leakage
  
• Compliance gaps
  

Attackers love inactive data because it’s less likely to be noticed and less likely to be patched or monitored.

3. Compliance and Governance Become Harder

Regulatory requirements (HIPAA, SOX, GDPR, etc.) demand visibility into where data lives, how long it’s retained, and how it’s protected. Inactive files scattered across production storage make this nearly impossible.

Without proper tiering, organizations face:

• Excessive retention
  
• Inability to produce files during audits
  
• Lack of data lineage
  
• Potential fines due to improper handling
  

Why Traditional Tiering and Archiving Approaches Are Failing

1. They Require Manual Policies and Ongoing Maintenance

Legacy tiering tools depend heavily on manual rule creation—rules based on access times, file types, or directories. But data environments evolve constantly. This leads to outdated rules, mis-tiered files, and ultimately… more inactive data piling up in production.

2. They Break File Paths or Cause User Disruption

Older hierarchical storage management (HSM) or archive solutions often replace files with stubs or broken links. Users click a file and—surprise—it’s either gone or inaccessible without an admin’s help.

This creates:

• More tickets
  
• More confusion
  
• More admin overhead
  
• More resistance to adoption
  

3. Restore Processes Are Slow and Unpredictable

Traditional archive systems store files in proprietary formats or slow retrieval tiers. When users need a file back, restoring it is anything but seamless. That unpredictability leads organizations to avoid aggressive tiering… just to avoid the pain.

4. They Don’t Address Modern Storage Targets

Legacy tiering tools were built for tape and monolithic cold storage—not modern Object or NAS systems. Their limitations prevent organizations from fully taking advantage of today’s low-cost, highly durable storage platforms.

A Modern Approach Is Needed — One That Fits Today’s Data Reality

A modern tiering solution must:

• Automatically identify and move inactive data
• Reduce primary storage footprint and cost
• Maintain seamless access for users
• Provide secure, auditable retrieval
• Leverage modern, low-cost storage
• Minimize operational overhead

Legacy systems don’t check these boxes. But newer solutions do.

Introducing: NetGap by Congruity360

NetGap is a modern tiering solution that removes inactive data from production and stores it securely on low-cost Object or NAS storage. Users can restore files through your existing ticketing system using a dynamic link left in place, with admin approval and full audit logging. Check out NetGap