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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsThe IEEE International Roadmap for Devices and Systems (IRDS) 2022 “Mass Storage and Non-Volatile Memory Roadmap” describes a future shaped not by one winning storage technology, but by systems that combine media with different strengths. Its ten-year planning horizon examines NAND flash, hard disk drives, tape, optical storage, DNA storage and emerging non-volatile memories alongside interfaces and storage architectures. Its specific product figures and forecasts are from 2022, not current 2026 specifications.
What the IEEE mass storage roadmap is
The roadmap is a technical planning document, not a buying guide or a promise that a particular technology will reach the market on schedule. IEEE describes roadmaps generally as expert-developed, peer-reviewed reports intended to help coordinate technology development and updated periodically. The IRDS 2022 paper sets out a planned ten-year evolution horizon and says its working group continues earlier iNEMI roadmap activities.
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Its method is to consider technologies both individually and as alternatives for particular applications. The questions include what performance and capacity applications need, what technical or business barriers stand in the way, and where further research or implementation work may be needed. The paper therefore compares trade-offs rather than declaring a universal best medium.
Which storage technologies it covers
The roadmap spans established mass-storage media and technologies that the 2022 paper describes as developing or emerging. Their roles differ: some prioritize fast access, others economical bulk capacity or long-term preservation.
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| Technology | How it fits the 2022 roadmap | Trade-off or qualification |
|---|---|---|
| NAND flash and solid-state drives (SSDs) | An established storage category, with the paper discussing 3D NAND structures and more bits stored per cell. | The paper notes density gains can trade off against endurance and performance; NAND’s erase/write behavior also has to be managed. |
| Hard disk drives (HDDs) | An established option for bulk, nearline storage; the paper discusses energy-assisted magnetic recording and possible future capacity gains. | The roadmap treats HDDs as an alternative to flash for applications with different cost and performance needs. Its cited product figures are a 2022 snapshot. |
| Magnetic tape | Included as an established mass-storage and archival alternative. | The document compares it with HDDs and other media in the context of application needs; it does not make tape the best choice for every archive. |
| Optical storage and disc recording | Included among storage alternatives, with optical media discussed in relation to archival use. | The paper describes optical storage as competing with tape and HDDs in relevant applications, not as a universal replacement. |
| DNA storage | Considered for archival storage as a developing technology. | In the 2022 paper’s assessment, it was still several years from production. That is a dated assessment, not a verified statement of its status in 2026. |
| MRAM, RRAM, FRAM and PCM | Included as emerging non-volatile memories that may find application niches. | The paper does not establish that these technologies are ready to replace mainstream storage; building production volume for specific uses is part of the challenge. |
How to compare the options
A medium cannot be ranked sensibly on a single scale. The roadmap’s application-based approach points to several questions to consider together:
- Latency and bandwidth: How quickly must data be reached, and how much data must move at once?
- Capacity and cost: Does the job need a large amount of data at low cost, or is faster access worth a higher storage cost?
- Endurance and expected media life: How often will data be written or changed, and how long does it need to remain available?
- Workload and role: Is the data active in a data center, processed at the edge, held as backup, or kept for archival use?
- System constraints: How do power, system design and the storage interface affect the choice?
These dimensions explain why a high-performance SSD and a high-capacity HDD are not simply interchangeable products, and why tape or optical media may be considered for archive workloads. The right balance depends on the application and the complete system, not just the recording medium.
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Why the roadmap covers architecture as well as media
Storage performance and usefulness also depend on how devices connect and how data is organized. The IRDS paper includes NVMe and NVMe over Fabrics (NVMe-oF), CXL, UCIe, hierarchical storage, and block, file and object storage. It also discusses computational storage and memory, in-memory computing, and embedded non-volatile memory.
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These are not all recording media. NAND, tape and HDDs describe ways data can be stored; interfaces and architectures describe how storage resources connect to processors, move data, or fit into a system. A roadmap that considered only media would miss important system-level choices. Its scope includes enterprise and data-center systems, edge and embedded devices, AI training and inference, backup, cold storage and archives.
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The paper does not set out an independent roadmap for volatile DRAM or SRAM, although it may refer to other IRDS work on those memories.
What the 2022 figures do—and do not—tell you
The paper’s examples help explain the trade-offs it was assessing, but they should be read as dated figures, not as current market specifications. The following values are reported in the IEEE IRDS 2022 paper:
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| Figure in the paper | What it describes | Date qualification |
|---|---|---|
| About $0.02/GB, or $20/TB | Nearline HDD storage cost | IEEE IRDS, 2022; not a current price quote. |
| About $0.20/GB, or $200/TB | Enterprise NAND flash SSD storage cost | IEEE IRDS, 2022; not a current price quote. |
| 20–22 TB | Then-current 3.5-inch nearline HDD capacity | IEEE IRDS, 2022; not a statement of current maximum capacity. |
| Up to 176 layers | Then-current 3D NAND products | IEEE IRDS, 2022; not a current product limit. |
The paper also discusses prospective increases in capacity and NAND layer counts. Those are projections made in 2022; the figures above do not establish whether or when a projected milestone was later reached.
What has changed since the roadmap was published
A June 10, 2026 San Francisco Bay ACM event listing says experts had completed a roadmap update covering a 15-year period and names NAND, emerging non-volatile memory, HDDs, tape, optical storage and DNA storage among its topics. That listing is evidence that an update was discussed, but it is not the update document. It does not support attributing detailed 2026 forecasts, specifications or conclusions to the newer roadmap.
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Accordingly, the 2022 paper is useful for understanding the technologies and trade-offs the IRDS considered, while its numerical status and projections should remain explicitly dated. The available listing alone is not enough to establish what the updated roadmap says about any particular technology.
What readers should take from the roadmap
The central idea is a storage hierarchy: systems can match different media and architectures to different jobs instead of forcing every workload onto one technology. The 2022 IRDS roadmap considers flash, HDDs, tape, optical storage and emerging approaches in light of cost, capacity, performance, endurance, power and application fit. It is a map of questions and potential development paths—not evidence that a newer technology is ready to displace established storage, nor a source of current product rankings.
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