Few things travel as far and as fast as media. When creative teams work together over distances, the cloud is what connects them. However, media content continues to explode in size and a purely cloud-based storage may not always be fully optimized for editorial workflows. And while cloud solutions are increasingly secure, storing data offline eliminates remote threats altogether.

It’s in this space where a hybrid cloud environment shines the brightest. It’s called hybrid because it’s a mixture between on-premise storage and cloud storage. It offers all the speed and flexibility of the cloud without having to replace existing tech or buy new infrastructure.

Why Consider the Hybrid Cloud?

Having the best of cloud and on-premise storage means that organizations can choose what content belongs where, and they can scale cloud resources up or down whenever they need to. Beyond this scalability, a hybrid cloud solution can also have a real impact on the bottom line by cutting costs by up to 80% for perpetual storage.

iconik is built for the cloud. Users can bring their own cloud buckets and sync them all to iconik to be indexed and searchable. But this is only half of the combo. Linking with on-premise storage like TrueNAS can deliver the full promise of the hybrid cloud.

Here are some of the biggest benefits in a hybrid cloud solution:

• Efficiently carry out to-day-day tasks to meet demands.
• Keep existing infrastructure without fully moving to the cloud
• Disaster recovery is managed by the provider, and can cost much less if needed. 
• Private infrastructure offers fast, local accessibility (disaster recovery requires additional planning)
• Share content that is shareable with anyone who needs it
• Keep private content private
• Scale cloud resources as needed
• Spend less on perpetual storage

Hybrid Cloud for Media and Entertainment Organizations

Speed is one of the key benefits in a hybrid cloud environment, as well as a pivotal factor in media workflows. The joint solution from iconik and TrueNAS can address many of the common needs encountered by production teams.

Do you need a quick repository for storing files onsite at a large event?

Solution: Upload locally to the compact TrueNAS Mini using SMB/NFS/AFP, and proxies will be generated locally and pushed to iconik when you are connected to a network.

Do you need to quickly send media from onsite to a remote editor?

Solution: Once your TrueNAS machine with new files is connected to a network, proxy data will begin to fill iconik. From there, your editors can use proxy versions to build their project. Hi-res versions of your media can be reconnected during the final render.

Do you need a high-performance, all-flash system with 100 GbE of bandwidth?

Solution: The all-flash TrueNAS R-Series systems deliver up to 8K performance, while iconik will keep doing what it does best— adding proxies and indexing it all in the cloud.

Do  need a digital archive with 99.999% availability and 24/7 support for our mission-critical workflows?

Solution: TrueNAS Enterprise will do all this while iconik stores your proxy data in the cloud for easy sharing and collaborative editorial work. TrueNAS Enterprise is ideal for perpetual storage and is often only ⅕ the cost of renting cloud storage at scale.

“The combination of global availability through iconik’s cloud-based platform and TrueNAS’ ability to deploy storage anywhere is perfect for cross-site users and film production crews”

Parham Azimi, CEO, iconik Media

Hybrid Cloud Made Easy

Making the change to hybrid cloud can be really simple. On TrueNAS, the iconik storage gateway runs natively as a plugin so it can act as a repository for iconik. Once this is setup, it allows for easy, immediate access to shared files in your TrueNAS from the cloud.

iconik will streamline media management by making local and cloud-based assets discoverable from a single interface. Whatever digital content is uploaded to your TrueNAS will be ingested, and archived in iconik.

The iconik storage gateway plugin allows our users to not only protect and share their media files, but also manage them easily. The iconik smart media platform is a perfect addition, helping turn TrueNAS storage into a comprehensive multimedia management solution.

Brett Davis, Executive VP, iXsystems

Get Started with the Hybrid Cloud

For any questions or inquiries feel free to contact iXsystems or our team here at iconik.
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