My first LTO drive installation was on a multi user SGI CAD application server. This system did all the compute and data management for roughly 30 users. I/O streaming was easy and efficient.
IRIX allowed for live file system backups and the drive doing compression meant all that happening with negligible user performance impact.
Was literally set it and forget it, aside from tape rotation into off site storage.
Compression would have had an impact.
We don't do multi user app serving much today, so maybe a smart drive has less benefit. But it mattered then. 2000's era.