Optical Storage Technology Association
The OSTA's website logo
The Optical Storage Technology Association (OSTA) is an international trade association which promotes the use of recordable optical technologies and products, and most notably it is responsible for the creation and maintenance of the UDF specification. Representing more than 85 percent of worldwide writable optical product shipment's manufacturers and resellers, it was incorporated in 1992.
In the autumn of 2007, OSTA spearheaded a campaign to encourage families and photographers to back up their digital photographs on compact discs. Since it is estimated that one out of seven computer hard drives "crash" within the first year , OSTA believes it is dangerous to merely rely on storing irreplaceable pictures on a hard drive alone.