Per the disclaimer in the paper, "performance results obtained 
in other operating environments may vary significantly" ....

Variables outside the tape subsystem were intentionally held
constant to demonstrate drive performance under a TSM workload.
By making all other things equal and eliminating LAN-related
variables, these results can 'reasonably' be considered as a
fair representation of tape drive performance ......

The conclusion was that 
(a) IBM employs accurate and unbiased performance 
     measurements of its drives and those of its competitors
(b) performance of IBM tape drives is markedly better than
     other drives in their classes
(c) 3590E and 3580 LTO performance is important for sites
     with a tape subsystem that includes TSM.

Of course, YOUR actual mileage CAN vary ...... significantly! 

-Ray