A surge in sports teams using SaaS for large file transfers
We’re always curious to see patterns of large file movement among different industries, so a recent surge in sports teams and leagues using our SaaS large file transfer solution, Media Shuttle, definitely caught our attention.
Over the past year, teams from the NHL, NFL, NBA and the IRB (International Rugby Board) have purchased Media Shuttle, mainly to send game footage to news stations, but also for internal transfers, documentary filmmaking, and training and scouting purposes.
Their are several reasons why Media Shuttle fits their needs so well. Here are a few:
The seasonal nature of sports broadcasting
Depending on the sport, a typical regular season only lasts between two and four months. That’s the peak activity for filming and transferring video footage to news stations, with drafts and pre-season getting more sporadic attention.
This fluctuating nature of sports coverage, with large peaks and valleys in data transfer is a major reason SaaS large file transfer services work so well for them.
SaaS allows for automatic response to peak and valley loads, without the need to pay for and maintain enough on-premises servers to handle peaks.
SaaS doesn’t require a lot of upfront investment
SaaS does not require a huge upfront investment, so teams can try it out during peak season and renew each year if the software continues to serve their needs, without the risk of deploying additional hardware or any IT heavy on-premises software that requires maintenance and management.
Additionally, the pay-as-you-go pricing model of SaaS reduces cost of ownership, making file transfer very much like a utility service where you only pay for what you use.
Sports are best in HD, meaning large file transfers
Probably the biggest driver of Media Shuttle adoption is HD video. Capturing live HD footage of basketball, hockey, football or rugby is really the only way it’s done these days. And it’s one of the places high resolution imagery shines the most, with the sweat, facial expressions and athletic prowess almost more real than being there in the stadium.
But, of course, HD creates enormous files. Having software like Media Shuttle that is very easy to use and can transfer any size file, quickly, makes the sports video producer’s life far easier.
Getting recognized for technology innovation with SaaS
Several of our customers have been approached by journalists interested in writing about their technology innovations using Signiant software. The Detroit Lions were recently featured in CIO Magazine. The story is called NFL Lions Tackle Giant Video Uploads. We were happy to hear how much Media Shuttle has helped the Lions move their HD footage.
“The Lions product and brand is getting out across more eyeballs than ever before,” said Bryan Bender, director of broadcasting and production for the Lions. “That’s a huge value.”
SaaS supports and scales with business growth
The cloud and SaaS solutions have revolutionized many businesses, making them more efficient and cost-effective. But they are especially beneficial to businesses with high-growth potential. Like the Lions witnessed, Media Shuttle scales automatically to an increase in broadcaster demand for more game footage in different parts of the country. And, as our sports team customers have told us, it also encourages that demand.
If you have a need to transfer large files and get your brand “across more eyeballs,” we’d love to help.
