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Creative Agency Streamlining IT with Microsoft 365 and SharePoint
Company Situation
The company is a creative agency providing a range of media production and digital marketing services, including social media management, website development, video content creation, and project-based video/design editing. Their team operates across multiple locations with a mix of Windows and Mac devices, supporting both creative and communications functions. The agency serves primarily local businesses and manages diverse digital assets that require reliable storage and easy access.
Existing Workflow
Currently, the company uses an on-premise IT setup featuring Windows servers and multiple NAS devices for file storage. They have recently started migrating standard business data to the cloud, leveraging Microsoft 365 and SharePoint for non-creative files. However, creative assets remain distributed across several on-premise NAS units and local storage, with limited standardization or centralized management. Some users are remote, located across different countries, complicating file access and collaboration.
Issues with the Existing Workflow
The on-premise storage environment is fragmented with multiple NAS devices, creating complexity for users accessing files across different locations.
Mac users have been underserved as their devices were largely unmanaged until recently.
SharePoint is not suitable for large creative files and is cost-prohibitive at scale, with storage costs around $150 per terabyte.
Attempts to explore distributed NAS or alternative cloud storage solutions like Wasabi and LucidLink have presented challenges around cost, performance, and meeting the full range of user needs, especially for remote users in multiple countries.
The company lacks advanced asset management features such as searchable metadata, review and approval workflows, and integrated collaboration tools, relying mostly on storage alone.
How Shade Would Change Their Workflow
Shade offers a cloud-native, mountable storage solution designed specifically for creative workflows. By replacing or augmenting the current NAS-based setup with Shade, the company would benefit from:
- Seamless, scalable cloud storage optimized for large creative files at a competitive cost.
- Cross-platform support ensuring both Windows and Mac users have consistent and managed access.
- A unified interface that brings together storage, metadata tagging, and asset organization to simplify file search and management.
- Built-in review and approval workflows with timestamped comments, annotations, and transcription capabilities, streamlining creative collaboration and company feedback.
- Secure sharing options for both internal teams and external stakeholders, improving communication and project turnaround times.
- The ability to consolidate multiple tools into a single, cohesive platform, reducing complexity and operational overhead.
Benefits
- Significant cost savings compared to traditional on-premise NAS and high-cost cloud storage alternatives.
- Enhanced user experience for both local and remote users across different device types.
- Improved creative asset discoverability and collaboration through metadata and workflow features.
- Simplified IT management with centralized cloud storage and compliance controls.
- Faster project delivery enabled by integrated review/approval processes.
- Scalability to grow with the agency’s evolving digital asset needs without costly infrastructure investments.
Technologies Used
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