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Media Production Team Streamlining Storage with WD and Backblaze
Company Situation
The company operates within the media production industry, specializing in video content creation. Their team primarily works from a single office location with a core team of three full-time editors and several freelancers who typically come onsite. The scale of their digital assets is substantial, with approximately 200 terabytes of archived footage accumulated over multiple years, and about 30 terabytes of active project data primarily spanning the last three years.
Existing Workflow
Currently, the team relies on a combination of local storage solutions, including Western Digital servers, GVADE systems, and multiple external drives connected via a networked computer. For active editing, projects are worked on SSDs and backed up internally on their servers. Company feedback is managed through Frame, a video review platform. The team does not require offsite collaboration solutions since all editors and freelancers work onsite. Cloud backup systems had been set up previously (e.g., Backblaze) but were not fully utilized due to slow speeds and a less user-friendly interface.
Issues with the Existing Workflow
Limited drive visibility: The team struggles with accessing content on drives that are not physically connected to their system, causing workflow interruptions and delays.
Backup inconsistencies: Previous backup attempts were not comprehensive, resulting in occasional data loss from older drives that failed.
Cloud backup challenges: Existing cloud backup solutions are perceived as slow and difficult to use, leading to underutilization and lack of confidence in offsite data security.
No online archival system: There is no streamlined, cloud-based archive for secure storage and easy retrieval of important project footage, particularly for long-term company projects with recurring usage.
Cost and complexity concerns: The company is cautious about cloud storage costs and wants a solution that balances price with ease of use and accessibility.
How Shade Would Change Their Workflow
Shade offers a modern, sleek user interface that simplifies cloud backup and archival, making large volumes of media content instantly searchable and accessible without the need to physically connect external drives. By replacing Frame with Shade’s integrated review tools, the company could streamline company feedback within the same platform used for storage and backup, reducing reliance on multiple tools. Shade supports near-line storage suited for active and archival workflows, providing peace of mind with secure cloud backups of the most critical 20 terabytes of footage rather than the entire archive. The platform also allows the company to potentially pass costs onto companies via branded presentations, opening new revenue or cost-recovery opportunities.
Benefits
- Easy, centralized access to all archived and active media without manual drive connection
- Integrated review and feedback tools that eliminate the need for separate video review platforms
- Secure, reliable cloud backup with a user-friendly interface designed for media workflows
- Scalable storage solutions tailored to critical data volumes, optimizing costs
- Potential to create company-facing presentations and charge for value-added services
- Reduced risk of data loss and workflow interruptions from drive failures or hardware issues