It all started so innocently; the way it usually does. ioSafe CEO Robb Moore promised us that he had an interesting demo involving data recovery. Data recovery? How interesting can that be? Along the way, Robb informed us about about his newest product, an improved ioSafe external storage solution called the ioSafe Solo SSD Hard Drive. Robb claimed that the Solo SSD Hard Drive is fireproof, waterproof and can survive the crushing force of a collapsing building; quite an intriguing feature considering noted tech centers such as San Francisco Bar Area and Tokyo are prime earthquake country – but most importantly, Robb promised no Powerpoint presentations. We had no idea how bad we were going to abuse that little external hard drive.
With more than a little skepticism, we prepared to watch Robb put his claims to the test. First Robb lit the Solo SSD Hard Drive and a regular mechanical hard drive on fire using two wicked propane tanks. The temperature reached over 1900 degrees F in the external drive case. The Solo SSD did not look great but the other hardrive was utterly destroyed.
Next, as if reaching 1900 F wasn’t enough, Robb gleefully submerged the Solo drive in the bucket of an excavator. While the water level was rising, Robb stated that the Solo Drive can still be recoverable after being submerged in saltwater a up to a depth of thirty feet for thirty days. We’re not sure about that but we are sure the Solo Drive had a refreshing dip in the pool. Next up, throwing the Solo Drive out the window. The Solo Drive was raised to an approximate height of twenty feet in the bucket of the excavator and dropped. Not too much to say about that except with each test the odds of a nice recovery looked slimmer and slimmer; but we were not done yet.
You would think that rolling over the Solo Drive with a 35,000 pound excavator would grind it to powder. Well, it did. But as Robb explained that there is a quarter inch of military steel-grade armor protecting the SSD drive inside. Even though the outer case was destroyed, the SSD drive itself looked to be in good shape considering what we just witnessed. And by the way, with all watching expectantly, Robb delivered on his promise. The pictures we were shown before the trauma were recovered.
The Solo Drive comes with both USB 2.0 and E-SATA connectivity. Cost per unit runs from $499 for the 64GB version to a whopping $1,249 for the 750GB version – or not so whopping taking into account off-site vaulting savings and reduced bandwidth costs. All Robb would say about what brand of SSD used was that the Solo Drive is brand agnostic and that all the SSD themselves use Samsung controllers.
And even if you do lose data – a seeming unlikeyl event given the trials witnessed – ioSafe offers an up to $5,000 worth of data recovery service with no questions asked for a duration of one year. For customers who want piece for a longer timeframe, the DRS plan can be upgraded at additional cost. This product looks like it is aimed for the sweet spot of small and medium sized businesses. Robb did mention that the Solo Drive is not indestructible – though nearly all plausible scenarios have been accounted for. We’re inclined to believe him.
The most important thing in all of this is, as Robb promised – no Powerpoint slides were involved.