Introduction Nowadays data storage and its sustainability is a topic of great importance, not only for cloud providers but also for other companies and even for people in their personal lives. Most of the data stored is referred to as cold data, meaning it is very rarely changed and accessed (e.g. photos, research results). That cold data must be stored, in order to do that, cloud providers run server farms utilizing hard drive discs (HDD). In that way they make the data available on the users’ demand. Those server farms need a lot of energy, and the storage capacity is limited. To overcome the issue of needed energy and limited capacity, a new form of storage media is in the focus of our research. Methods By utilizing a certain coating-substrate combination, it is possible to write data into ceramic data carriers using a femtosecond laser. By applying this method, it is possible to write a large amount (125 Gigabyte) of data onto a relatively small area (100 cm²) of the ceramic data carrier. Within our research we analyzed different coating-substrate combinations regarding their mechanical properties and laser ablation characteristics. The coatings investigated were synthesized by magnetron sputtering and argon nitrogen gas mixture using different composite targets e.g. Ti, Cr, TiAlCr, and AlCrNbTaTi. The coatings were deposited on different substrates including sapphire, silicon, glass, and austenitic steel. Results All the coatings were investigated by XRD showing a single-phase fcc-structure and hardness values ranging from 21 to 33 GPa. After investigating structure and mechanical properties, laser ablation tests were conducted to determine the laser ablation threshold and to find suitable coating-substrate combinations for the aimed application. Furthermore, after writing data into the samples, the samples were tested for their thermal stability, oxidation resistance, and corrosion resistance. Conclusion These studies prove the exceptional stability and durability of such ceramic data storage media. Once written, storing the data is almost without any energy consumption and such ceramic data carriers would allow to save 99% of the currently used energy for storing such data.