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Creative Services Company Consolidating Dropbox and Wasabi S3
Company Situation
The company operates within the remote creative services sector, supporting a globally distributed team of 70 staff members. Their organization has no central physical office and relies entirely on remote workflows. Over seven years, they have accumulated close to 200 terabytes of media assets, with expectations for this volume to double within five years. Their team includes designers who require reliable and efficient access to large media files to perform offline editing.
Existing Workflow
Currently, all company and internal media assets are stored in Dropbox, organized in extensive folder structures. Project management is handled via a task management platform where Dropbox folder links are embedded for collaboration and file sharing. Designers mount and unmount project folders directly through Dropbox integrations within their operating system’s file explorer. Media files are downloaded for editing offline and then uploaded back to Dropbox. The company has also been experimenting with Wasabi S3 storage using third-party mounting tools to integrate cloud storage into their native file system.
Issues with the Existing Workflow
Storage Scalability: Storing archival and active files together in Dropbox is unsustainable given the anticipated growth to 400+ terabytes.
Cost Uncertainty: The company is concerned about future Dropbox pricing changes as their storage needs increase.
Performance Bottlenecks: Upload and download speeds via Dropbox are slow, hampering creative productivity.
Technical Limitations: Dropbox’s API is difficult to work with, limiting automation and integration capabilities.
Mounting Challenges: Third-party solutions to mount S3 storage (e.g., Mountain Duck, Cloud Mounter) have proven unstable, causing crashes and workflow disruptions for designers.
Remote Access: Distributed teams with varying internet speeds face inconsistent access performance.
How Shade Would Change Their Workflow
Shade offers a cloud-based media management platform designed to feel like a native hard drive with a built-in production system. The platform supports seamless mounting and unmounting of project folders, enabling offline editing workflows similar to Dropbox but with enhanced performance and flexibility. Shade’s upcoming cold storage solution will provide a cost-effective archival tier, allowing the company to separate active and archival content efficiently. Shade’s improved developer documentation and robust API, including Zapier integrations, will empower the company’s systems integrator to automate workflows and create custom solutions without the limitations experienced with Dropbox. This tailored cloud experience addresses the company’s need for scalable, reliable storage accessible from anywhere, optimized for media-heavy workflows.
Benefits
- Scalable storage architecture with distinct hot and cold tiers to optimize costs
- Faster upload/download performance, improving creative productivity
- Native-like folder mounting/unmounting experience for designers
- Stable and reliable integration with existing tools and workflows
- Enhanced API and automation capabilities for systems integrators
- Reduced dependency on unstable third-party mounting software
- Improved remote access for globally distributed teams
Technologies Used
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