Not all data needs the same access speed:
Hot storage: Frequently accessed. SSDs, in-memory caches. Expensive. Recent orders, active sessions.
Warm storage: Occasional access. HDDs, standard object storage. Moderate cost. Last month's logs, older orders.
Cold storage: Rarely accessed. Glacier, archive tiers. Cheap but slow retrieval. Compliance archives, old backups.
Strategy: Automatic tiering based on access patterns. Move data to cheaper storage as it ages. Define retention policies per data type.