The demand for storage in the Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry is increasing due to higher resolution, higher dynamic range, and higher frame rate content. Coughlin Associates estimates that by 2024, professional media and entertainment storage growth will exceed 180 Exabytes, with over 90% of data being unstructured and doubling every 18-20 months. This data is spread across various locations, including on-premises, in production trucks, and in the cloud. As a result, 82% of IT leaders have adopted a hybrid cloud strategy to manage this growing data.
File-based workflows are prevalent in the M&E industry, with many organizations using a combination of local storage and cloud storage for collaborative editing. However, managing rich media content in multiple locations can complicate workflows and limit efficiency. A solution is needed to manage file-based content across locations and scale with the growth of files. Cinesite, a leading digital entertainment studio, has collaborated with Qumulo to address this challenge and leverage high-performance storage at scale with controlled costs.
Qumulo’s technology, such as Q-GNS and ANQ, allows users to access geographically dispersed data as though it were local and provides cloud file storage on Azure. By implementing Qumulo’s solutions, Cinesite has been able to effectively manage current customer needs while developing capabilities for future requirements, including scalable 16K video workloads. The studio has also utilized AI for predictive block and file access, intelligent caching, and responsive scaling across locations to enhance workflows and collaboration.
By using Qumulo’s global namespace, Cinesite has been able to rapidly exchange data worldwide and leverage its workforce effectively. The flexibility of Qumulo’s solutions has allowed the studio to avoid overprovisioning storage services and pay for additional performance only when needed. This has enabled Cinesite to serve its customers effectively and efficiently, improving rendering capabilities and supporting projects with varying performance demands.
The M&E industry continues to see an increase in content size, necessitating increased storage and processing capabilities to support workflows such as video rendering. By partnering with Qumulo, Cinesite has been able to optimize its storage infrastructure, pay for cloud storage only when needed, and leverage excess capacity in-house to improve workflows. This collaboration has not only enhanced Cinesite’s operations but has also positioned the studio to meet the evolving requirements of the industry and deliver high-quality content to its audiences.
