Trams assists Barcroft Media with Consultancy and Increased Storage to Improve Network and 4K capabilities.
Overview
Barcroft’s existing infrastructure had reached its limit, they needed consultancy on how to expand their storage requirement, improve network performance and they also wanted to move their live archive away from their tape backup system.
Company Profile
Barcroft Media are an international media content company based in London, founded by Sam Barcroft in 2003. They represent a large network of content creators and market their material to publications, websites and broadcasters in over fifty countries. The Barcroft newsroom contains some of the UK’s best picture, news and features editors, all recruited from national newspapers, top press agencies and leading magazines.
Project Background
Barcroft Media were looking for a partner that could deliver the kind of solution and support, that could help drive the business forward and allow them to grow organically. With large files and 4K on the horizon, there were lots of factors to account for, so the correct solution would be key to current and future workflows.
The Challenge
- Fast reliable shared storage with expansion requirement
- Improved performance & stability to existing network
- Live Archive moved from Tape to Disk Storage
- Dedicated Backup to Tape without Archive Access
- Local Support with a fast turnaround
The Solution
- Consultancy and installation plan
- Installation & configuration of new fileserver, RAID J-Bod expansion array & new GB network switches
- Configuration of tape library for new backup policies running
- Training for employees on new workflow and setup
- Support implementation
The Results
- Company fast shared storage (including 8 users for editing video)
- Professional backup solution with disaster recovery strategy
- Archiving moved to disk for faster access
- Overall improved network performance & stability
We engaged Trams to complete a quick-turnaround infrastructure update to increase working capacity and update our servers and network. This was such a success that we immediately engaged Trams to provide 100% of our technical support and we feel more assured than ever. Our dynamic and progressive business is now supported by an experienced and professional team that never tire to resolve issues, whether current or inherited.
Dave Wheels, Head of Operations - Barcroft Media/Productions