ftp solution brief: move your media with today's ftp alternative

© 2014 Signiant, Inc

FTP SOLUTIONS BRIEFMove your media with today’s FTP alternative

Media Shuttle Intelligent File Movement


ONCE UPON A TIME, FTP WORKED.

FTP was once the easiest, most cost-effective way to share files among media teams. But there are some serious drawbacks to relying on this 40+ year-old technology.

Why are so many filmmakers, editors, and businesses still relying on FTP?


MOVING LARGE FILES

If you need a general file transfer and sharing solution, there are many available. However, if you need to move large media files or data sets, there are only a few options. Although FTP alone lacks many requirements that are necessary to meet the needs of media operations teams, it’s still being used as a foundation technology for many custom built applications because it can handle large files and organizations can keep control over their content.


FILE SIZES AND DATA AMOUNTS ARE ONLY GROWING.

“The digital universe is growing 40% a year into the next decade. By 2020, it will contain nearly as many digital bits as there are stars in the universe.” ~ The Digital Universe of Opportunities, by EMC and ICD


AND THE GAP IS INCREASING.

As the size of files continues to grow, media channels diversify, and teams become more and more distributed around the globe, the gap between existing FTP technology and business needs will only increase.

Why can’t we simply update FTP like we would any software solution?


FTP IS NOT A SOLUTION.

FTP is a file transfer protocol. A protocol is a set of communication rules used between computers, but many people think of FTP as a single solution or software application. As a protocol, FTP is usually just the foundation for a pieced-together solution needing numerous customized scripts and software add-ons to meet business requirements.

With a foundation protocol dating back to the ’70s and many ad hoc scripts built on top, most FTP systems are far from elegant or scalable — and are very difficult to update and support.


FTP IS SLOW.

FTP has no acceleration technology built in. Moving a 30-50GB file – which is very common in film and broadcasting – takes a long time.

And if the file transfer is interrupted, you may have to start over. With something small like 10MB, starting over is not much of a problem. But if the file is very large, say 10GB, it can be painful and often means arriving at work in the morning to realize your day has just been hijacked by a file transfer problem.


FTP COSTS IT RESOURCES.

When you consider all the maintenance and management impacting IT resources, FTP is far from free. It’s most obvious with every request IT receives to add or remove users. In the media business, where partners, contractors and freelance workers are abundant, user management can become very time-consuming and costly.


FTP REQUIRES STORAGE MANAGEMENT.

High on the list of complaints from FTP users is storage management. You can manage storage for FTP, but it requires someone to write scripts with basic rules to manage archiving so large files do not consume all your storage.


SECURITY IS NOT STANDARD.

Secure file transfer is not a standard element with FTP. While it’s possible to complete an FTP file transfer securely, it again requires additional scripted customization or security software.


EMAIL NOTIFICATION ISN’T INCLUDED.

Also with FTP, your developers can write scripts or you can buy software to enable email notifications when files are transferred, but email alerts are not included in the protocol.


FTP ENCOURAGES UNMANAGED FILE SHARING.

Many users and employees are so inhibited by FTP that they’ve adopted unmanaged file sharing services made for handling office files (ie. Dropbox and Box) or even resorted to shipping physical media. While solutions like Dropbox and Box are fantastic, they are not designed for large corporate assets or professional media projects.


INTRODUCING MEDIA SHUTTLE

This isn’t a faster FTP.

Henry Ford once said, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” Likewise, when Signiant set out to build a better large file transfer solution, the goal wasn’t to build a better FTP but a different order of technology.


FTP ALTERNATIVE OR AUGMENTATION

Media Shuttle can be used to effectively augment an existing FTP server and file structure. It works alongside your FTP environment, improving its performance by providing better security, ease-of-use, speed, visibility and control over your file movement. Many companies have invested a lot of time in their FTP systems and feel comfortable with their existing file structure.

Media Shuttle can eliminate the need for multiple ad hoc scripts and software additions, or it can act as a complete FTP replacement.


MEDIA SHUTTLE SPEED

Like FTP, Media Shuttle can transfer files of unlimited size and is designed specifically to move large media files. But unlike FTP, Media Shuttle’s acceleration technology moves files quickly – up to 200 times faster. Media Shuttle compensates for the latency experienced with “long-haul” transfers, helping users to fully utilize their network.

Where FTP struggles over long distances and with poor internet connections, Media Shuttle is tolerant of any network — no matter how slow it is, how globally distributed its users are, or how many network hops are required.


CHECK POINT RESTART

Another element that makes Media Shuttle faster than FTP is what we call “check point restart.” Media Shuttle is always tracking the progress of your file transfer. If it is ever interrupted due to loss of internet connection, power, or for any other reason, Media Shuttle will know where the file send was interrupted and will restart the transfer from that point as soon as connection is restored.


HYBRID SAAS ARCHITECTURE

Signiant’s Media Shuttle is a hybrid software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution — a hybrid between a SaaS solution and an on-premise software application. The control layer piece of the software is delivered in the cloud and hosted by Signiant. The data layer can either be an on-premise server managed by the user’s organization or in the organization’s cloud storage. This eliminates the typical security concerns of SaaS by controlling who has access to your content and when. You enjoy the benefits of cloud software without sacrificing control of your assets.


MEDIA SHUTTLE BASICS

Media Shuttle portals, or web pages, can be quickly configured to operate in one of three modes – Send, Share, or Submit – putting the power in the hands of users to send/receive, browse, upload, download or onramp. Every transaction made is tracked, recorded, and reported on, giving you easy visibility into the analytics of your team’s file movement. Media Shuttle also sends email notifications when files are moved.


SEND

The Fast Transfer Portal enables accelerated person-to-person file transfers.

http://www.signiant.com/mediashuttle


SHARE

Very similar to FTP, the File Sharing Portal allows a group of users working on a project to quickly browse, upload and download any size file to any accessible file system directory for instant access to media.



SUBMIT

The Send-to-Folder Portal lets administrators deliver content directly to a network folder, providing an instant on-ramp for automated file-based workflow operations, such as virus checking, transcoding, or film festival submissions.



NO TRAINING REQUIREDMedia Shuttle never requires training or instructions. Users navigate to a highly intuitive web portal where they drag and drop the files they want to share.



BRANDING AND LANGUAGE SPECIFICATIONSMedia Shuttle provides ten customizable portals to send, share or submit content. Highlight your brand with your logo and images, and specify languages to ease communication among your team and partners.



If you’re frustrated with slow FTP software or the security challenges of makeshift online solutions, take a look at Media Shuttle. We’ll provide a downloadable trial you can start using today. Send a file today at www.signiant.com/mediashuttle to discover a new way to move your media.

Media Shuttle combines the next-generation features of Signiant technology and the benefits of the cloud with the security of your network to change the way you move media.

THE BENEFITS OF THE CLOUD




Used by the world's top content creators and distributors, Signiant is the market leader in intelligent file movement software for media and entertainment. The company's powerful software suite optimizes existing enterprise network infrastructure and media technologies to ensure secure digital media exchanges, workflow efficiency and superior user experiences. For more information, visit http://www.signiant.com.

ABOUT SIGNIANT

http://www.signiant.com/

ftp solution brief: move your media with today's ftp alternative

Software

ftp file transfer

better ftp

ftp users

faster ftp

ftp alternative

ftp systems

ftp costs

ftp environment