Before implementing TapeTrack it is usual for the previous tape management processes to have no real checks and balances and as a result, no warnings or general oversight.

Where the process was to eject all the tapes on an email, and then hand them to the offsite vendor, even when the operator scanned the tapes into a spreadsheet, it is rare for operators to detect mistakes. At best they sometimes compare the number of tapes being sent to the number of tapes on the email.

In addition to this, many offsite vendors close their books at the end of each day, so even if you were to send them a list of expected tapes, and then not send them a specific tape, at best they might send you an exception report, which is usually ignored. Then the next day, even if you sent them that missing tape, they would report that as an exception too.

When TapeTrack is integrated with your backup software, TapeTrack will know exactly which tapes need to be moved offsite, so if an operator scans the wrong tape, they will be told they have the wrong tapes. In addition, if a tape is not sent offsite today, TapeTrack will remind the operator, and the offsite vendor tomorrow to send that tape.

Although this is exactly the reason why people license TapeTrack, the culture shock that is created when operations staff start being warned of mistakes should not be underestimated.

This culture shock can result in staff becoming upset, and in extreme circumstances result in the staff looking for ways to compromise the checks and balances that TapeTrack enables. Examples of this behavior include disabling Barcode scanners in the hope that it will take time to troubleshoot the scanner issue.