From FTP to SaaS: The changing economics of large file transfer

| Proprietary and Confidential©2012 Signiant Inc

Proprietary and Confidential

© 2014 Signiant Inc.

From FTP to SaaS:

The changing economics

of large file transfer

From FTP to SaaS:

The changing economics of large file transferwww.signiant.com @Signiant +1 781 221 4051

http://www.signiant.com

https://twitter.com/signiant


Media & Entertainment has been a pioneering industry in the practice of sending large files over the Internet. Early solutions like FTP solved many problems, but can’t keep up with business needs and now accumulate hidden costs.

More efficient, cloud based solutions are being adopted throughout the media production process, paving the way for other data-intensive industries.


The Original Big Data

www.signiant.com @Signiant +1 781 221 4051



| Proprietary and Confidential©2012 Signiant Inc© 2014 Signiant Inc.

Today’s media industry landscape is increasingly global, with file based delivery becoming a standard requirement.

The B2B world has become global





Media files are really big

ProductionPost

ProductionSecondary

DistributionContribution /

AggregationPrimary

Distribution


5 – 10 TB/day coming off feature film set

Digital Cinema Package is 400 – 700 GB

Linear television show is 20 – 80 GB

Netflix web videos are 1 – 3 GB

• Files are much larger• Fewer of them

• Smaller files• Huge numbers of files

Linear television ad spot is 300 – 400 MB

Compression & Editing

Media file sizes vary depending on where they lie along the path from production to distribution. Starting off often over 5 terabytes coming off a set, files sizes generally get smaller and greater in number closer to distribution and drop off dramatically for secondary distribution to outlets like Netflix and Hulu. But even the smallest files are not small.







Transferring large files is difficult

Transferring anything over 1GB starts to get difficult, and many media organizations utilize a mix of methods to transport large files. Email file size limits are usually reached by 25MB. And online file sharing services also have file size limits, plus lack security necessary for professional media.

Courier services are typically a reliable way to send large files, but require breaking an otherwise fully computer-based workflow, costing additional time, money and headspace.

So media professionals keep going back to FTP.

© 2014 Signiant Inc. www.signiant.com @Signiant +1 781 221 4051




FTP has become the default

This 40+ year old protocol has become the default solution that media and many other companies can’t seem to leave behind for some good reasons:

FTP can handle large files

FTP is IT sanctioned and available

FTP is “free”





However, FTP lacks basic functionality, requiring ad hoc scripts to be written on top of the protocol or the purchase of additional applications for:

• Email notifications

• Security

• User and storage management

• Automation and visibility

FTP lacks basic functionality







And, is FTP really free?

The need to purchase additional applications or pay a developer to write scripts for basic functionality and security are the obvious costs of FTP. Less apparent is the amount of time FTP systems siphon from IT, requiring assistance for such minor tasks as adding and managing users. Additionally, legacy FTP systems are very difficult to maintain and upgrade.







FTP hails from the days before UX design became an important concern for workplace computing.

And, most people agree, it’s painful.

FTP has $%@#y UX

“You’ve got to start with the customer experience and work back towards the technology — not the other way around.”

~Steve Jobs




| Proprietary and Confidential©2012 Signiant Inc 10


© 2014 Signiant Inc.© 2014 Signiant Inc. www.signiant.com @Signiant +1 781 221 4051

by UXer, Jess Hang




FTP is slowFTP’s underlying transport control protocol has trouble handling files sent over long network distances, stalling out under latency. It also has no ability to automatically check how much data has been sent or received and restart if the network is interrupted. For these and other reasons, FTP is very slow. Plus, speed is not a function you can write a script or buy additional web applications to handle.

FTP is just slow by nature.





Will more bandwidth make FTP faster?

This is a public service announcement.

Many organizations attempt to solve the speed problem of FTP by purchasing additional bandwidth. This will NOT help with FTP, at all. Please spread the word and don’t let your friends waist time and money purchasing additional bandwidth because their files are moving like a snail. It happens all too often, even by professional and otherwise tech savvy people.

The problem with FTP has to do with latency not bandwidth.





Today’s solutions are SaaS

High Availability Global Performance

Scalability Cost Effectiveness

Easy to Deploy & Use Rapid Innovation


A recent survey by North Bridge found that 60 – 80% of respondents indicated plans to make significant moves to the cloud within a year or two.

“Agility, reduction in capital expenditures, and reduced operating expenditures – in almost 100% of the situations – have been the primary drivers of cloud adoption,” says Jim Morrisroe, CEO of Piston Cloud Computing, in the survey report.


http://www.clker.com/cliparts/3/1/b/a/11971488211294199438barretr_Earth.svg.hi.png

http://www.clker.com/cliparts/3/1/b/a/11971488211294199438barretr_Earth.svg.hi.png

http://mjskok.com/resource/2014-future-cloud-computing-4th-annual-survey-results




Not all “cloud” software is SaaS

On-Prem Software

X Cloud Washed


Cloud Infrastructure Marketing

• Core Technology• Domain Expertise

• Cloud Infrastructure • Platform as a Service DevOps Team

High Availability

Global Performance

Scalability

Cost Effectiveness

Easy to Deploy & Use

Rapid Innovation

Cloud Formed SaaS

X High Availability

X Global Performance

X Scalability

X Cost Effectiveness

X Easy to Deploy & Use

X Rapid Innovation





Signiant’s Media Shuttle is a hybrid SaaS solution that allows media professionals to quickly transfer any size file anywhere in the world. It can replace or augment FTP and any other means you may be employing to transfer large files with all the power of true SaaS. But the “hybrid” part takes care of security concerns often associated with cloud based software. It can also work alongside existing FTP systems, if you’d like to keep your file organization as it is.

A SaaS alternative to FTP


http://www.signiant.com/products/media-shuttle/







Signiant has been developing on-premises large file transfer software since 2000. Originally created to move huge code bases around the world for global software development, it was adopted by large Media & Entertainment companies in the mid 2000s as the industry transitioned from tape to file-based workflows.







Online File Sharing

• Simple web interface• Branded portals• Subscription model

17

What our customers asked for


Signiant Technology

• Central Control• Acceleration• Enterprise-class security• Workflow integration

FTP

• No file size limits• Storage under your

control


During the R&D phase of Media Shuttle, we asked users of our on-premise solutions and other media professionals what they wanted. They often responded using features of products they already knew.

Media Shuttle incorporates the best of them.







Three simple ways to transfer large files

Workflow Onramp

Person to Process

SUBMIT

Person to Person

File Transfer

SEND


Person to/from File System

File Sharing

SHARE







Save Time Move files fastAutomated servicesMinimal IT overhead No Training Required

Save Money Less Expensive to Get StartedSaaS Enabled PricingScalable to any Sized Company

Consolidate into one solution Augment existing FTP

Try Media Shuttle

Try Media Shuttle today










Signiant’s intelligent file movement software helps the world’s top content creators and distributors ensure fast, secure delivery of large files over public and private networks. Built on Signiant’s patented technology, the company’s on-premises software and SaaS solutions move petabytes of high-value data every day between users, applications and systems with proven ease. For more information, visit http://www.signiant.com.

ABOUT SIGNIANT








Intelligent File Movement Software




