When evaluating industrial microSD cards, two key metrics—TBW (Terabytes Written) and MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures)—are critical for understanding their longevity and reliability, and these metrics directly impact your business’s bottom line by reducing replacement costs and downtime.

TBW refers to the total amount of data that can be written to the card over its lifetime before it becomes unreliable. This metric is especially important for industrial applications that involve heavy write cycles, such as surveillance cameras, data loggers, and IoT sensors. For example, a card with a TBW rating of 100 TB can handle 100 terabytes of data writes; exceeding this limit increases the risk of data corruption or card failure. Consumer microSD cards typically have low TBW ratings, often under 10 TB, making them unsuitable for long-term industrial use.

MTBF, on the other hand, measures the average time a card can operate continuously without failing, expressed in hours. Industrial microSD cards have MTBF ratings in the hundreds of thousands of hours—some even exceeding 1 million hours—meaning they can run non-stop for over 100 years under ideal conditions. This is a stark contrast to consumer cards, which have MTBF ratings in the tens of thousands of hours. A high MTBF rating ensures that your industrial systems remain operational for extended periods, minimizing the need for frequent card replacements and reducing maintenance labor costs.

It is important to note that TBW and MTBF are not interchangeable; both metrics must be considered together. A card with a high TBW but low MTBF may fail prematurely due to other factors, such as component wear. Conversely, a high MTBF card with low TBW will not last long in write-intensive applications.

When purchasing industrial microSD cards, always check the manufacturer’s specifications for TBW and MTBF, and choose cards that align with your application’s data write requirements and operational schedule. Investing in cards with high TBW and MTBF ratings will save your business money in the long run by ensuring reliable data storage and reducing downtime.