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GlossaryStorage Costs and CapacityStorage reclamation
Storage reclamation
Storage reclamation is the recovery of capacity an organization already owns, by moving, archiving, or removing data that no longer needs its current place. It starts with measurement: knowing which files are cold, duplicated, orphaned, or past retention. Reclaimed capacity delays new purchases and lowers the cost of every backup and migration that follows.
Key takeaways
- Reclaimed capacity delays new purchases and lowers backup and migration costs.
- The usual sources are cold, duplicate, orphaned, and expired data.
- Measure, review with owners, then act by policy.
What is an example of storage reclamation?
A life science research institute indexed 27 million pathology files across three sites. Within days of the first index, it found temporary, transient, and training data sitting on its core research and clinical storage, and reclaimed 0.5 PB worth $542,000, while keeping its AI data pipelines running. It also found 1 PB of files over five years old, ready to move to lower-cost storage.
How does storage reclamation work?
Typical sources are cold data on fast tiers, duplicate copies, files from departed employees, and data past its retention period. The work has three steps:
- Measure what is reclaimable.
- Review the list with owners.
- Act by policy: move, archive, or remove the files.
How much storage can an organization reclaim?
Across Diskover deployments, the range is 30 to 50%, and top performers cut their footprint by half or more. Most of it is data untouched for years sitting on the fastest tier. The catalog reclaims nothing by itself. It produces the list that makes the decision defensible, and the files on that list are then moved, archived, or removed by policy.
How do you measure how much of an estate is reclaimable?
Combine three filters: files not read for a defined period, duplicates, and files belonging to closed projects or departed owners. Across Diskover deployments, the reclaimable share runs 30 to 50%, with top performers cutting their footprint by half or more.
What is the difference between storage reclamation and storage cost optimization?
Storage reclamation gets back capacity an organization already owns, by moving or removing data that no longer needs its place. Storage cost optimization is the wider goal of paying less for storage overall: it includes reclamation, and also choosing the right storage types, controlling cloud fees, showing teams what their data costs, and planning purchases. Reclamation is usually the fastest part of cost optimization, because it saves money without buying anything.
How does file analytics help with storage reclamation?
It shows what can be reclaimed, how much it is worth, and where to start:
- What: capacity grouped into cold, duplicate, orphaned, past retention, and trivial data.
- How much: the size and yearly cost of each group, so the biggest savings come first.
- Who: the owners and departments to review each group with.
- Progress: how much has been reclaimed since the last report, and how fast the waste comes back.
Can storage reclamation be automated?
Yes, once the first review is done. After teams agree on what counts as waste, policies can run on a schedule: moving cold data to lower-cost storage every week, clearing temporary files and failed transfers every night, and sending larger deletions to an owner for approval. A semiconductor company saves $250,000 a year in operating costs through automated cleanup policies alone. Automation is what keeps reclaimed capacity from filling up again.
How does Diskover help?
Diskover measures reclaimable capacity from metadata, such as last access date, duplicates, and owner, so your team can review the list before anything moves.
Sources
- Diskover deployments, 2026: 30 to 50% of a data estate proves reclaimable once analyzed.
- Diskover customer results, self-reported: a life science institute indexed 27 million pathology files across 3 sites and reclaimed 0.5 PB worth $542,000 within days of the first index, with 1 PB of files over five years old identified for tiering; a semiconductor company saves $250,000 a year in operating costs through automated cleanup policies.
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Last updated: November 13, 2026.
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