Is your company prepared to work remotely? [sponsored]

M&E organizations have unique requirements that should not be ignored even in the wake of crisis

By Jon Finegold, CMO, Signiant

The last few weeks have driven home how disruptive unforeseen turmoil can be for the industry. While events such as the 2011 Tohoku tsunami and the SARS pandemic have demonstrated threats to business continuity in the past, the swiftness with which COVID-19 has impacted societal and economic norms is one more reminder that almost everyone needs remote access in order to be prepared to work from anywhere, often on short notice.

One of the challenges faced in media is that it’s not that easy to just “take your work with you.” When dealing with large file sizes, highly valuable assets and collaborative projects, standard web-based collaboration tools — from Dropbox, Google Drive, SharePoint and Slack — which function wonderfully in most industries, lack a foundational technology necessary for most media projects: the ability to quickly and reliably transfer large files over the Internet. For that, you need file acceleration along with other enterprise capabilities to support the unique conditions of a distributed workforce, such as defense-in-depth security, flexible user administration, powerful reporting, super intuitive user interface design, storage options, and more.

Easy, fast, secure access to essential content...anywhere

With Signiant Media Shuttle, end users can securely and easily get remote access any size file, from anywhere in the internet connected world. Signiant’s patented file acceleration technology will move files at speeds up to 100X faster than standard methods such as FTP without any restriction on file size. The end-user experience is simple to use and Checkpoint Restart will ensure that any interrupted transfer gets automatically restarted from the point of failure, offering unprecedented reliability under even the sketchiest of connection conditions.

Signiant has always been committed to storage independence, meaning that our software allows access to assets regardless of where and how they are stored. Our SaaS platform is now being used by more than 500,000 media professionals from every country in the world and is connected to thousands of on-prem and cloud storage endpoints, providing a seamless experience to end users who need access to content anytime, anywhere and from any type of storage.

For example, with a Media Shuttle SHARE portal, end users can log in securely from anywhere in the world and access assets without knowing or caring what type of storage is being used or where that storage is located.

Their experience is seamless and identical across all storage types and locations. With Shuttle, the operations teams get complete control. They can customize portals (including matching native languages), manage user access, and report on all activity from the web. Remote access to media assets has never been easier.

Utilize cloud storage for a seamlessly remote access experience

For many looking to build a supportive remote infrastructure, cloud storage has become an invaluable resource. With Media Shuttle, it becomes easier than ever before to take advantage of cloud storage. While many companies still rely on on-prem storage, cloud storage offers IT teams the ability to spin up the storage they need, immediately and without ever setting foot in the office. So, for a company that needs to quickly implement a remote work environment, they can easily set up an S3 bucket or Azure blob and then Signiant can provision Media Shuttle to work with that cloud storage literally in minutes — entirely remotely!

Be prepared

At one point or another, it’s likely that remote work will be crucial for any media organization’s success. Waiting for calamity to inspire the shift just makes businesses more vulnerable than they need to be.

But for those who have waited and need to send some files, this link will allow you to send any size file for free, experience Media Shuttle’s speed and ease-of-use, and get you the files you need. Or, to check out the full power of Media Shuttle including the operations interface and all its features, schedule a free consultation with one of our product experts.

Any industry as vast as M&E can be unpredictable, and the surrounding unpredictable world only makes it moreso. However with Media Shuttle, businesses remain prepared for any disruption that may come their way — whether it’s coronavirus disease (COVID-19) or (hopefully) something less severe.

About the Author

Jon Finegold joined Signiant as chief marketing officer in 2017, bringing 20+ years of experience in launching and growing software companies. After working as a software engineer, Finegold became a pioneer in SaaS, helping to launch OpenAir in 1999, one of the first B2B SaaS offerings which was acquired by NetSuite in 2008 (and later Oracle) and remains a leader in its category today. He also led the launch of where.com, a SaaS platform for mobile location aware advertising, which was acquired by PayPal in 2011. Finegold was chief marketing officer at Scratch Wireless from launch through acquisition and then founded and ran a consulting firm called Digital Jolt to offer part-time CMO services to early stage technology companies.

About Signiant

Signiant’s enterprise software provides the world’s top content creators and distributors with fast, reliable, secure access to large media files, regardless of physical storage type or location. By enabling authorized people and processes to seamlessly exchange valuable content — within and between enterprises — Signiant connects the global media supply chain. Learn more at signiant.com.