Five Requirements for Media Storage in a Web-Scale World

by Darryl K. Taft

Enterprises must achieve Web scale that doesn’t compromise quality. Many traditional storage systems were simply not designed to handle the increasing format variety and object size brought on by advances in media technology. The increases in format density from standard definition and high-definition, to 4k and 8k resolution have resulted in data storage growth beyond the petabyte level for many M&E organizations. Image hosting/publishing services, video streaming sites and other content distribution organizations that rely on the integrity of their digital data need to find progressive storage solutions that can easily grow beyond Web scale.

Companies require ease of deployment and management that allows organizations to focus on what’s important. M&E organizations are in the business of content creation, broadcasting and more—not in the business of storage. By seeking out data storage systems that don’t require armies of administrators to manage them, these organizations and their IT departments can take the focus off of storage and onto what matters: initiatives that improve their customer’s experience.

Enterprises need security that allows for cross-site access to digital content but doesn’t leave data vulnerable to security threats or unauthorized access. While security should be a top priority for all industries and organizations, M&E companies that need data to be accessible from multiple locations and even across the globe must find secure storage systems that will also protect their critical digital assets from any form of compromise.

Companies also need cost efficiency that really lowers the total cost of ownership. Options such as pay-as-you-use public cloud capacity can be cost-efficient at small scale, but once M&E companies achieve Web scale, these solutions become increasingly cost-prohibitive. M&E organizations must seek out new solutions, such as distributed erasure-coding-based object storage, that eliminates the need for costly data replication, reducing capital and operating expenses.

In addition, enterprises require always-on flexibility that allows for inherent changes, upgrades and growth, enabling M&E companies to effectively compete in a media-hungry, connected world. M&E companies must seek out storage solutions that allow them to avoid system downtime or exposure while upgrading, expanding or moving locations.