GB Labs – Unlocking efficiency with NAS-like cloud storage
Dominic Harland, CEO, GB Labs
Media organizations today face the dual challenges of adapting to new ways of working and responding to the increasing demand for high-quality content. Fresh technological advancements, including NAS-like cloud storage technology, have emerged as key enablers of the streamlined, collaborative remote workflows, efficient resource utilization, and increased operational flexibility essential to overcoming these challenges.
Streamlining workflows and enhancing collaboration
Storage solutions that give users the familiar experience and performance of working with a NAS but from the cloud are invaluable in streamlining workflows and enhancing collaboration across geographically dispersed teams. With a cloud-first storage system, teams can access and share files seamlessly, collaborating in real-time while working together on the latest version of a project. Users enjoy immediate access to files, mount drives as if storage were locally attached, and experience real-time collaboration regardless of location. Rather than copying files onto hard drives or downloading an entire file to work on a fraction of it, users can access just what they need when they need it.
These innovations in cloud storage for media support editorial, effects, asset management, and other applications, regardless of file size, video format, and bit rate. Integrating cloud storage with existing production tools further streamlines creative workflows, enabling teams to work with the familiar software tools they always have.
An organization relying on sophisticated cloud storage for media can maintain established creative workflows while allowing team members to work from any site, including homes, hotels, and even planes. The organization benefits from its capacity to hire the best talent for a job without concern over geographic location. Moreover, by eliminating the time and cost of bringing team members together at one site, the organization can give team members greater flexibility in contributing to ongoing projects while reducing the time to complete work. These capabilities have become vital by enabling a remote, collaborative work environment, allowing media companies to maintain high levels of productivity and creativity regardless of location.
Modern NAS-like cloud storage systems have advanced data management features that enhance efficiency and security for collaborative remote workflows. Automated workflows and data management protocols minimize the manual effort to organize and maintain large datasets. This automation optimizes data storage and ensures that only necessary data is retained, eliminating the clutter and confusion that duplicate files can cause. Built-in security features such as advanced encryption and stringent access controls provide robust protection against unauthorized access and data breaches. With a cloud storage system that supports monitoring and managing access to sensitive content, media organizations can ensure compliance with data protection regulations and safeguard intellectual property.
Achieving efficient resource utilization
Another significant benefit cloud storage solutions offer organizations over traditional storage systems is optimizing resource usage more effectively. Systems deployed on-site by an organization often require substantial physical infrastructure, continuous maintenance, and ongoing expenditures associated with maintaining servers. These installed systems are typically designed to support peak loads, so this approach leads to overprovisioning and underutilizing resources.
In contrast, cloud storage operates in a virtualized environment that better manages environmental resources. Organizations can allocate resources precisely where and when needed, radically improving utilization and efficiency by scaling their cloud storage capacity and associated energy consumption. With integrated tools for monitoring and visualizing resource usage, cloud storage solutions provide organizations with the tools to assess progress toward their sustainability objectives.
Cloud-first storage is a reliable, fast, and efficient alternative to reinvesting in permanent storage for organizations dealing with a fleet of hardware systems moving toward end of life. In making this transition, some organizations shift the bulk of their data to the cloud while selectively adding local storage to provide media acceleration and cache-level support to clusters of users. When their cloud storage solution interoperates with local storage and VMNe drives, the organization can support clusters of users in the same physical location more efficiently, as users can move the most-used media to storage closer to them, minimizing egress.
Driving operational flexibility
The shift to NAS-like cloud storage is not just a technological upgrade; for any media company or multisite organization that stores and collaborates on media assets across locations, it is a move toward more flexible and efficient production workflows. Organizations can minimize their reliance on physical infrastructure and optimize their resource use. They can leverage the scalability of cloud storage to experiment with new formats and technologies, exploring new opportunities while keeping associated infrastructure costs low.
The demands of the modern media landscape continue to evolve. In shifting to a NAS-like cloud storage solution, media organizations implement innovative, forward-looking solutions to give distributed media and production teams the tools and capabilities they need to collaborate effectively in creating compelling content. Delivering cloud flexibility with on-prem-like performance, this game-changing approach to media storage provides organizations with unprecedented efficiency. Projects are delivered on time and within budget, supported by an innovative storage solution that does not get in the way of the creative process but enhances it by supporting flexibility, efficiency, experimentation, and collaboration.
