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Media Production Company Consolidating SAN/NAS and Parsec
Company Situation
The company operates within the media production industry, specializing in travel content creation. Their team is distributed, with primary production hubs in two major cities across different continents, supported by smaller satellite teams globally. The core production and post-production teams are Mac-based and include editors who require high-performance access to large media files.
Existing Workflow
Currently, the company relies heavily on on-premises storage solutions, specifically SAN/NAS systems located in their main offices. For remote access, they use Parsec—a remote desktop application originally designed for gaming—to connect to office machines and edit remotely. For review and approval, they have transitioned from Vimeo to Frame.io, utilizing Frame.io’s Adobe integration to some extent. For file transfers, they use a lightweight, folder-structure-preserving service similar to WeTransfer, favoring it over Google Drive due to issues with file corruption and download limitations.
Issues with the Existing Workflow
The company experiences significant challenges with remote workflows due to the limitations of their current setup. While their on-prem SAN/NAS storage performs well locally, remote access is hampered by latency, especially across long distances, such as between their offices separated by an ocean. Parsec’s gaming-focused technology is not optimized for professional video editing, leading to unstable and unreliable connections. Network security measures, including firewalls and frequent OS updates, further degrade remote working reliability. Additionally, the Miami-based team, now smaller and more agency-oriented, requires efficient large file transfer capabilities, which their current tools only partially address. Overall, the inefficiencies result in lost hours, repeated IT troubleshooting, and a fragmented toolset that complicates workflows.
How Shade Would Change Their Workflow
Shade offers a cloud-native solution that integrates with the company’s existing on-prem NAS infrastructure, enabling remote users to mount and stream original media files directly without the need for remote desktop sessions. This eliminates the latency and stability issues inherent in their current remote desktop approach. Shade’s platform also supports seamless collaboration and file sharing, complementing their use of Frame.io for review and approval, while providing more robust and secure file transfer options. By centralizing media access in the cloud with local caching, Shade streamlines remote editing, reduces IT overhead, and enhances the overall user experience for distributed teams.
Benefits
- Reliable, high-performance remote access to original media files without latency issues
- Seamless integration with existing on-prem NAS infrastructure
- Reduced dependency on fragile remote desktop solutions and associated IT support
- Improved collaboration and file sharing aligned with existing review platforms
- Secure and efficient large file transfer capabilities suited to distributed teams
- Increased productivity with fewer lost hours due to technical difficulties
Technologies Used
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