Signiant vs. LucidLink
Signiant and LucidLink offer two very different things. LucidLink is a cloud storage system whereas Signiant connects to any of your storage, on-prem or cloud, providing fast, seamless access to media, anywhere. If your business keeps assets in multiple storage locations and needs to move content between people, with partners or to, from and between cloud storage endpoints, you will need the Signiant Platform.
Why the M&E Industry Chooses Signiant
Signiant and LucidLink offer two very different things – some organizations use both. LucidLink is a service that connects to object storage to attempt to eliminate the need to move heavy assets. LucidLink breaks your files into smaller pieces and tries to predict which pieces you may need locally to reduce the movement of assets. They charge per GB, and depending on your cloud provider, you may get hit with egress fees as well. It would be unusual and expensive for a media company to keep all their assets in LucidLink-connected storage.
Pricing
Pricing
Signiant offers straightforward and upfront pricing for companies of all sizes and we take pride in being easy to do business with. Every subscription includes unlimited transfers without file size limits when you connect Signiant to your on-prem storage, and generous cloud payload when using cloud storage. LucidLink charges based on the user and the volume of data stored, which will get pricey if you work with large data sets. You may also be charged extra egress fees, depending on your cloud provider.
Storage
Storage
Signiant is dedicated to preserving your storage freedom because we think you are the expert on how to store your assets. Whether your assets are on-prem or in the cloud, Signiant gives you complete control over your content — we have no agenda when it comes to storage and we don’t bundle or resell storage. File storage is not supported by LucidLink, however, they will bundle storage or allow you to link to your object storage. Signiant is the obvious solution if you intend to maintain assets across different storage locations to balance costs, performance, and security.
Connectivity
Connectivity
With the use of our patented acceleration technology, Signiant solutions can move content up to 100 times faster than standard transmission speeds. Signiant’s acceleration technology takes advantage of all available bandwidth to move any size file or data set across any IP network. Checkpoint restart ensures any interrupted transfer will resume from the point of failure without data loss. LucidLink doesn’t accelerate file movement but makes it simple to work with smaller parts of larger files, attempting to predict which parts you might need. This is useful in specific workflows but doesn’t help when you need to transfer large assets. LucidLink customers complain that the system performs poorly on networks with reduced bandwidth, which can be important in the work-from-home era.
The Signiant Platform by the Numbers
50,000
Connected Businesses
1,000,000
Global Users
200
Countries & Territories
50
PB Data Transferred per Month
Learn More About the Signiant Platform
The Signiant Platform builds on the foundation of our world-class fast file movement apps and adds workflow-centric production services that make working with media even more efficient.
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Why Every Media Company Needs Signiant
Content flow is key to media operations. Media assets need to get to more places, reside in more storage locations, and flow to more people and partners – to, from and between clouds. Media operations often include a mix of person-initiated workflows and automation. No matter where content needs to flow — between people, between systems, with partners, or to and from the cloud — Signiant has it covered.
A Comparison of Key Capabilities
The Signiant Platform | IBM Aspera | |
|---|---|---|
Proprietary transport technology that can move any-size file over any IP network at speeds up to 100X faster than traditional methods | ||
Lights-out reliability of all file deliveries with Checkpoint Restart | ||
Unlimited, custom-branded portals | ||
Search media assets across storage locations | ||
Preview media files | ||
Access proxy files | ||
Fully committed to storage independence | ||
Pre-transfer spec validation with CloudSpeX | ||
Bandwidth management | ||
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Signiant pricing compare to LucidLink pricing?
We offer subscription plans that provide simple, no-surprises pricing. Signiant prides itself on being easy to do business with and we work with companies of all sizes to meet their business needs. When you connect Signiant to on-prem storage, you get unlimited transfers with no file-size limits. When using cloud storage, every subscription includes a sizable allowance of cloud payload.
LucidLink charges both by the user and the amount of data stored. This will get pricey if you work with large data sets which is why companies don’t keep all their assets in LucidLink-connected storage. Depending on your cloud provider, you may also get hit with additional egress fees.
How does Signiant approach storage as compared to LucidLink?
We believe you know best how to store your valuable assets, and we’re committed to your storage independence. Wherever your assets are physically stored, on-prem or in the cloud, your content always remains 100% in your control with Signiant. We don’t bundle or resell storage. As an independent company, we don’t have an agenda when it comes to storage.
LucidLink will bundle storage or let you connect to your object storage but does not work with file storage. If you plan to keep assets in multiple storage locations to balance costs, performance and security, Signiant is the clear choice as it will provide access to media assets on any storage, anywhere.
How does Signiant’s connectivity compare to LucidLink?
Each of Signiant’s products leverages our proprietary acceleration technology, moving content up to 100x faster than standard internet transmission speeds. Signiant’s acceleration technology is capable of moving any size file or data set over any IP network, while taking advantage of all available bandwidth. Signiant adds Checkpoint Restart on top of its transport technology to automatically restart any interrupted transfer from the point of failure, without losing data.
LucidLink does not accelerate the movement of files but rather makes it easy to work with small pieces of larger files, trying to predict which pieces you may need. This can be useful in certain workflows but won’t help you when you need to move the heavy assets. LucidLink customers complain that the system doesn’t perform well on lower bandwidth networks, which can be key in the work-from-home era.
Is support included?
Every Signiant subscription includes our world-class customer support. Our support team works in the same location as the engineers who build the products, so they have direct contact with the teams if issues arise. Our awesome customer support is a key reason our customers renew and stay with us for years.
Does Signiant do more than file transfers?
Signiant is well known as the market leader in accelerated file transfers. After all, our software is used by thousands of companies to move petabytes of high-value content every single day. Further, when you purchase a subscription to any of our file transfer products, you join the Signiant Platform. That platform includes additional media management capabilities including multimedia search, preview of media assets and other actions such as transferring just a selected clip of a larger file.
Can we try Signiant before we buy?
Absolutely. We often do POCs with our customers before they buy so that your team can experience Signiant’s software in your environment with your datasets. Customers who do POCs often buy right away so let’s set up a quick call to get you started.
Testimonials
“Everybody gets notifications. It’s a lot more convenient for us and simplifies all communications. People are no longer asking us, ‘Has this file arrived?’”
Jóhannes Reykdal, Broadcast Technician
“Once others heard how well [Signiant Media Shuttle] it worked, everyone asked, ‘Hey, can I use it?’”
Dan Schott, Director, Post Technologies
“It’s the peace of mind you get with Signiant. You get reliability, and you get security because of the encryption.”
Matjaz Fajdiga, Head of TV Engineering
“We’ve been able to roll [Signiant portals] out in new ways and integrate them with our existing pipelines and tailor them to individual clients.“
DigitalFilm Tree and the Power of Belief
Customers
