Back to Workflows
Creative Design Agency Handling Corporate Marketing Projects
Company Situation
The company is a mid-sized creative design agency operating within a larger corporate group. Their team consists of about 22 people and they handle extensive design projects involving packaging and artwork. As part of a broader organizational push, the agency is the last unit within their parent group to transition fully to cloud-based data storage. The group is ISO 27001 certified and emphasizes strong security and compliance standards.
Existing Workflow
Currently, the agency relies on an on-premises Synology NAS drive to serve as their primary file server. The rest of the corporate group has already migrated their data to SharePoint, which suits their document-centric workflows. However, the design studio’s workflow heavily involves large Adobe Creative Suite file sets with complex folder structures and lengthy file names, which do not fit well with SharePoint’s storage limitations. Remote access is managed via VPN, which often results in slow performance and inefficiencies for the design team.
Issues with the Existing Workflow
SharePoint, while suitable for other parts of the group, is incompatible with the design studio’s large file sizes and complex file naming conventions.
The on-prem Synology server limits remote work capabilities, making VPN-based access slow and cumbersome.
There are significant challenges in enforcing consistent naming conventions, metadata tagging, and workflow processes within the design team, creating organizational inefficiencies.
The agency faces difficulties managing archival of inactive data, risking uncontrolled data growth that conflicts with ISO requirements.
SharePoint’s cost for hosting the design studio’s data was estimated to be prohibitively expensive and not workflow-friendly.
How Shade Would Change Their Workflow
Shade offers a cloud-native storage platform with a NAS-like workflow tailored to creative teams. By streaming files directly from the cloud, Shade allows the design team to access large files as if they were local, improving remote and hybrid work productivity without the lag of VPNs or full downloads. The platform supports integration with Creative Suite, enabling smoother file handling. Shade’s intelligent archival and backup features allow setting automated lifecycle rules to move inactive data into cost-effective archival storage, helping the agency meet ISO compliance and avoid data bloat. Additionally, Shade facilitates structured workflows including metadata tagging, naming conventions, and review & approval processes, which are critical for the agency’s future organizational goals.
Benefits
- Seamless cloud-based file access optimized for large creative assets
- Enhanced remote and hybrid workflow efficiency without VPN bottlenecks
- Cost-effective alternative to SharePoint for large-scale storage needs
- Automated archival policies reducing data sprawl and supporting compliance
- Improved organizational discipline with enforced naming conventions and metadata tagging
- Integration with Adobe Creative Suite and creative workflows
- Transparency and trust backed by Shade’s ISO 27001:2022 certification and security posture
Technologies Used
Want to see how Shade can improve your workflow?
Book a Demo