Robert Amatruda, an analyst at IDC, said users generally don't choose between tape and optical.

"It's not an either/or thing. I think that the optical technologies have really got a play in the enterprise, but it's still a complementary model alongside tape," he said.

Amatruda acknowledged that optical disc technologies have tripled and quadrupled in capacity over the past year, but at $60 for a 30GB platter, tape still carries the day for price-sensitive users. A 100GB DLT-4 tape cartridge costs about $30, he said.

"At the end of the day, the optical automation market has been pretty small. It's not been a growing market," Amatruda said. "They need some pretty major endorsements from servers and systems vendors."