CTERA says just 4.4% of storage capacity in its analysis was actively used, defining “active” as data modified within 90 days. The company analyzed 16 petabytes across 856 file-share discovery scans in enterprise NAS environments. Those results describe the environments CTERA scanned; they are not a census of enterprise storage overall.
What CTERA measured
CTERA’s September 15, 2026 release describes an analysis of live production data in enterprise NAS environments, including regulated industries. The 4.4% figure refers to capacity classified as active. StorageReview says the report defines active capacity as data modified within the preceding 90 days. That is a specific measurement window, not a claim that the remaining capacity is unnecessary or never used.
The results distinguish storage capacity from counts of individual files, and modification from access. Those measures answer different questions:
| Measure | CTERA-reported finding | What it describes |
|---|---|---|
| Actively used capacity | 4.4% | Capacity modified within 90 days, according to StorageReview’s description of the report |
| Capacity in files not modified for more than one year | 83.1% | Share of total stored capacity, not share of files |
| Individual files not modified for more than one year | 97.5% | File count, not storage capacity |
| Individual files not accessed for more than one year | 88% | File count; access is distinct from modification |
| Stored data accessed in a given 90-day period | 9.9% | Data accessed during that period, a separate measure from modification |
These are figures reported by CTERA, not independently reproduced estimates in the cited coverage. The sources reviewed do not provide detailed sample-selection criteria or enough methodology to determine how closely the scanned environments represent enterprises beyond the sample. See CTERA’s release, its Cold Data Storage Report page, and StorageReview’s coverage.
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What “cold data” means—and what inactivity does not prove
In this context, cold data is information that is infrequently accessed or changed, rather than information that has no value. A file untouched for a year may still be required for regulatory retention, a legal hold, a business process, or disaster recovery. Likewise, an access count does not show whether a file was modified, and a modification window does not show whether information can safely be removed.
CTERA argues that keeping inactive files on primary storage can add ongoing storage, backup, protection, and management costs. It also says that older material may retain network access and permissions, and that large volumes of historical or stale content can make it harder for AI systems to surface relevant current information. These are the vendor’s interpretations of the findings: the reported scan figures do not quantify dollar savings, establish that a security incident occurred, or measure AI retrieval quality.
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Why CTERA says the findings matter
CTERA CTO Aron Brand characterized the gap between active use and stored capacity as a costly mismatch: “When only 4.4% of capacity is actively used, enterprises are running their most expensive storage tier as what is effectively a cold archive. That creates a multiplier effect across storage and data protection costs, security exposure, and now the quality of information available to AI systems.” The quote appeared in CTERA’s September 15, 2026 release. It expresses the company’s assessment, not a savings estimate established by the scan.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How organizations should respond
Low recent activity can be a useful signal to review data placement, but it is not a deletion policy. CTERA’s stated recommendation is to decide where retained information belongs rather than simply deleting old data. A review should account for:
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- Retention schedules, regulatory duties, and legal holds.
- Business use, ownership, and whether files support infrequent but important workflows.
- Backup policy, recovery objectives, and the cost and risk of migrating data to another tier.
- Who needs access, what permissions remain in place, and how access should be governed.
The practical decision is whether data should remain on its current storage tier, move to a more suitable retained-data tier, or be deleted under an approved retention process. The CTERA results may prompt that analysis, but they do not determine the right action for any specific organization.
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