Having robust storage solutions in place is vital as content volumes grow. Whether you’re safeguarding decades-old film archives or managing the latest high-definition productions, the ability to store, organize, and retrieve data as and when needed is crucial. In the media and entertainment sector, there are two crucial aspects of managing content: archiving and backups. While they share similarities in terms of data protection and preservation, they serve different primary purposes.
Archiving: Archiving is the process of preserving media content for long-term retention. This includes storing completed productions, raw footage, digital assets, and associated metadata for future utilization, distribution, monetization, and historical preservation. Archiving ensures that these assets are securely stored and can be retrieved when needed, even years or decades after their creation.
Backups: Backups refer to the creation and storage of redundant copies of large volumes of media content to protect against loss or corruption. Backups are essential for ensuring data integrity and supporting disaster recovery efforts in the face of hardware failures, human errors, or cyberattacks.
Although they serve different purposes, together, they form part of a comprehensive data management strategy that safeguards valuable media libraries and ensures asset availability when needed. However, the M&E sector faces unique challenges when it comes to managing and preserving large volumes of digital content. These include:
Growing content volumes
From high-resolution videos and images to audio files and associated metadata, vast amounts of media content are generated across the industry. Managing and storing these assets becomes increasingly complex as the diversity and volume of media content expands. As volumes rise, media storage systems must be able to scale to accommodate future capacity requirements.
Data access and retrieval speed
Having seamless and rapid access to stored content is crucial for media organizations to maintain productivity. Delays or inefficiencies in retrieving media assets can disrupt workflows, hinder creativity, and impact delivery or content restoration. Implementing a storage solution that supports the seamless flow of content, whether accessing archived content, or restoring data from backups is essential for continuity now and into the future.
Cost and efficiency
Costs can be a significant concern for organizations dealing with large volumes of media assets. Traditional storage methods can require substantial upfront and ongoing investment in infrastructure, maintenance, and management. The inefficiency of these systems can also lead to higher operational costs over time.
Data protection and security
Content is valuable, so robust data protection and security measures are essential. Both archiving and backup require solutions that ensure data integrity and protection against unauthorized access and data breaches.
Addressing the challenges requires innovative storage solutions. Object-based storage provides a powerful technology that perfectly suits the unique requirements of both archiving and backup and contributes to a comprehensive content management strategy. By leveraging object storage, media organizations can over the challenges, future-proof their assets, and unlock new opportunities for creativity, content delivery, and monetization.
Perifery’s nearline archive solutions and media workflow applications are designed for media-focused workflows. Providing secure access to content from anywhere, at any time, we specialize in managing and safeguarding your content, while keeping disaster recovery and business continuity at the forefront. Learn more at perifery.com.
For more information on archiving, download our whitepaper, The Evolution of Media Archiving.
