What to look for and what to watch out for in your file transfer software BY SCOTT CARROLL

File Transfer Pain?

–Not in Our House

What to look for and what to watch out for in your file transfer software. BY SCOTT CARROLL

Media technology connects presenters to a much wider audience. Today, that means video. And at the core of video technology is the digital file.

Files need to be transferred but media files are in a class of their own. There are many ways houses of worship transfer media files these days including FTP, a technically “free” protocol, and popular online file sharing services like Dropbox, WeTransfer, and Google Drive. None of these file transfer options were developed with the unique needs of media organizations in mind and all have their pitfalls.

WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR:

FTP

Born in 1971, FTP is older than email, older than both Microsoft and Apple, and older than many of the people that are still using it. At its inception, it was a modern marvel — an open protocol to move files between any network-connected computers. But that was then, this is now. FTP is a liability, whereas smart, modern tools are purpose-built.

Standard Online File Sharing Services

File transfer services such as WeTransfer, Dropbox and Google Drive are familiar and user friendly but aren’t designed for media assets. General purpose file sending and sharing tools do what they do very well, but they’re built for specific classes of assets — productivity documents like text, spreadsheet, or PDF files.

You can use business file sharing services for large media files, but because of inherent limitations, you’ll likely take a hit in the form of do-overs, missed deadlines, wasted time, extra cost, and your end result.

Houses of worship that regularly work with video have unique technical and workflow requirements. You need specific tools built to adhere to them. You need tools that are fit for your purpose.

NON-STARTERS WORKING WITH MEDIA FILES IN TODAY’S WORLD:

? No acceleration. Without network optimization technology, large media files or volumes of media files will be on the slow boat to their destination. If time is of the essence, lack of an acceleration technology is a bottleneck. Upgrading your network without the right transfer software won’t help either. It’s like going from a country road to a major highway while driving a scooter.

? No guaranteed reliability and predictability. Are you using valuable staff resources to babysit file transfers? Most solutions do not have built-in checkpoint restart, or the ability to continue data transfer from the point of failure if the transmission is interrupted. This means starting over from the beginning.

? Insecure partner exchange. When working with partners and exchanging content, each party needs control of their storage and network while making it easy and secure to move content between parties. The severity of the risk is extreme and growing.

? Limited control and visibility. Users need to know when the files arrive at their destination, and the recipient needs to know that you’ve sent them. FTP is as transparent as a brick wall with no intuitive visibility without significant IT involvement. Serious problems arise when teams or end users deploy their own methods.

? File size limitations. Many file sending services dictate limits on how large your files can be and/or how many you can move at once or in a given period. Large media files are now the norm, not the exception. Limits are a nonstarter.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

What you’re looking for is the ability to move any size file over any IP network with speed, reliability, and security. The ideal tool combines the simplicity of online file sharing with acceleration technology, security, and centralized control and visibility.

Speed: It’s possible to move content up to 100x faster than standard Internet transmission speeds using acceleration technology. Move any size file or data set over any IP network while taking advantage of all available bandwidth. Also look for the ability to automatically restart any interrupted transfer from the point of failure without losing data.

Simplicity: Transferring files should be an easy task that requires no training that can be used from anywhere with a simple browser-based interface. Staff, volunteers, freelancers, and anyone else who needs access, should be able to send and receive content without worrying about operating a complex file transfer system.

Security: Your work is valuable! You need software that can ensure all transfers are appropriately authorized and tracked to provide irrefutable proof that files were delivered to protect your high-value assets in flight from source to destination. Trusting tools that the world’s top media brands trust is a good place to start.

Storage Independence: You want software that works with any of your storage types. Make it easy and secure for end-users to access files from any type of storage, anywhere in the world. Your assets should always remain in your control in your choice of storage.

Control & Visibility: Centralized tracking and reporting for every transfer with configurable email notifications keeps all stakeholders posted on status. It should be easy to add portal members, restrict permissions, control access to content, and track member activity, so you always know who has access to which files.

Scott Carroll is the Sr Manager, Marketing and Communication for Signiant. An industry veteran with a marketing and communications focus, Scott joined Signiant to tell the stories and ongoing benefits of this company. Scott is thrilled to be working with an innovator whose products make it easier and faster for the world’s content creators to translate their imaginations into rich audiovisual material. His primary role will be to convey the highly advanced technology and capabilities of the Signiant Platform into easy-to-understand stories and content.

Scott has held similar roles for other technology companies including AMD, NewTek, and Vizrt.