Here at Signiant, it’s become a tradition on Valentine’s Day to reflect on all the reasons why we love our customers. We’re lucky to work with some of the most forward-thinking and creative people in Media & Entertainment, so it’s nice to have the day to consider how much their partnerships mean to us.

This year, I wanted to acknowledge the trail blazers, the early adopters of file acceleration technology, both on-premises and in the cloud, that have helped shape global content ingest and distribution for Media & Entertainment. In doing so, they have and are continuing to pave the way for other industries struggling with growing file sizes that need to be transferred quickly and securely over public and private IP networks, from satellite and medical imagery to 3D printing and geospatial research.

A Brief History: How Early Adopters in M&E Led the Way in Large File Transfer Technologies

Signiant’s acceleration technology was originally developed to move huge code bases around the world for global software development, but became indispensable to large Media & Entertainment companies during in the early 2000s as the industry transitioned from videotape and film to file-based workflows.

On premises

Early adopters like Disney, NBC and Apple iTunes relied on Signiant’s Manager+Agents as an on-premises solution within their global technology infrastructures, leading the way for the adoption of acceleration technology across the industry.

As the industry globalized, with more international companies and more high demand events, such as live sports Signiant has continued to be a trusted partner for top media companies around the world.

In the cloud

But the adoption of Signiant on-premises technology isn’t the end of the story. Another, perhaps even more significant, path is being paved right now by M&E companies of all sizes.

Cloud computing has initiated a huge shift in the way we utilize compute resources, and the last decade has been a time of figuring out the best way to utilize the cloud in different contexts. The launch of Signiant’s first SaaS solution, Media Shuttle, in 2012 opened up the possibility for media companies of all sizes to benefit from and figure out new ways to utilize large file acceleration technology delivered as SaaS (software as a service).

Media Shuttle was the first lightweight, browser-based means to move large files quickly and securely from any location, and companies have used it to expand their global workforce, easily incorporate freelancers, employ creative talent anywhere in the world (like during the filming of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in the Abu Dhabi desert), and more.

Then in 2014, when Flight (our other SaaS solution) came along, allowing fast large file movement into and out of cloud object storage, companies began further optimizing their global workflows by utilizing cloud storage in different ways, (see how Discovery is doing it) including expanding on-premises storage but also as an intermediary for content ingest and distribution.

The best kind of partnership

Over the years, we’ve worked with our customers to solve problems big and small. And, the partnerships we’ve developed not only feel personal, many of them are. We know a lot of the people who use our technology by name, but it’s more than that.

Our customers have and are continuing to help build a technology that has value for companies and people all over the world. For that we are grateful.

Happy Valentine’s Day!