ZELUS Finds a Reliable FTP Alternative with Signiant Media Shuttle
The Setting
Based in Phoenix, Arizona, ZELUS is among the largest Building Information Modeling (BIM) services and virtual design firms in the United States. Using advanced LiDAR technology, they serve diverse industries like manufacturing, retail, entertainment, sports venues, and healthcare to create detailed 3D models for building renovations and new construction.
The Challenge
ZELUS faced frequent delays and data corruption using FTP to transfer LiDAR files, sometimes resorting to costly overnight shipping as a backup. The process was described as ‘hope and pray,’ with staff anxiously awaiting successful uploads.
The Solution
ZELUS transitioned to using Signiant Media Shuttle for data transfers, significantly reducing data corruption and delays. The new system provided a faster, more reliable and secure method for transferring large data sets from the field to the company’s on-premises servers.
The Value
Signiant’s value lies in its ability to provide a dependable and efficient solution for large data transfers. With Media Shuttle, ZELUS has nearly eliminated data transfer errors and file corruption, ensuring the timely delivery of crucial project data. This reliability has enabled ZELUS to keep project schedules on track, stay within budget, and eliminate the need for physical data transfers, ultimately enhancing overall productivity and efficiency.
ZELUS had a strict deadline to finish their 3D BIM model of a customer’s venue. With their LiDAR scanning field team working long days out east, back in Phoenix, and three hours behind, the registration team needed to work with the scanned data the minute it arrived. Only they couldn’t get it. On the first day, their FTP file transfer server failed — one scanner’s data took all day to transfer, and the other’s files were incomplete. By the fourth day, the field team tried everything — rebooting, trying different computers, re-uploading, compressing files, breaking it into chunks; they even considered shipping hard drives overnight. Nothing worked. Now, ZELUS’ project was 66% behind schedule and facing the possibility of missing the client’s deadline.
Background
ZELUS, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, is a premier BIM services and virtual design firm. Utilizing state-of-the-art LiDAR technology, ZELUS captures precise existing conditions of structures like buildings, stadiums, medical centers, and airports, producing comprehensive 3D models from the scan data.
Working primarily in the United States, ZELUS began with a modest team of seven, working from a park pergola, and has since expanded to approximately 100 employees nationwide. Serving major clients like Amazon, Intel, and Regal Theaters. ZELUS has also scanned high-profile locations such as the New Orleans Superdome, Los Angeles International Airport, Las Vegas casino properties, and NYU Langone Health.
Disconnections, file corruptions, and throttled speeds: Why ZELUS Needed to Switch
When ZELUS launched in 2010, field teams transferred captured LiDAR data onto hard drives and shipped them overnight to their Phoenix headquarters, where it was uploaded to a central server for the virtualization team.
“[They] used to have to wait for field techs to fly back or ship the drive overnight and hope the drive arrived intact, on time, or not lost in transit,” ZELUS Information Security Administrator Charles Weaver remembered.
In 2015, ZELUS switched to Box’s FTP server to send files directly from remote locations, which offered some improvements over shipping drives. However, new FTP challenges soon emerged, hindering reliable data transfers.
“We saw issues with quantity and size limitations, where thousands of files were being uploaded. Newer [technologies] favor more files but smaller files over fewer but larger files,” Weaver recalled.
“Disconnections, file corruptions, and throttled speeds. It was kind of a ‘hope-and-pray’ once you hit the go button. Just wake up in the morning, and hopefully, it was all done.”
~Charles Weaver, ZELUS Information Security Administrator
Weaver explained they faced new challenges with Box’s file size limitations, which initially capped individual files at 5GB, later increasing to 15GB, and eventually 150GB for a significantly higher cost. However, these file size restrictions were only part of the problem. ZELUS also contended with inconsistent network connectivity, slow transfer speeds, and frequent interruptions that required transfers to be restarted, further complicating their data transfer process.
“It was a daily struggle. At least every other day, there would be corrupt data. We would have to reach back out to field personnel and have them re-upload the corrupt portions, which usually would be delayed until the end of the day as they would be traveling or on-site already again.
And when they did arrive, about 15% were corrupted.
Collecting between 50 and 200 GB of LiDAR data daily, along with hundreds of other image files, often totaling terabytes per project, ZELUS found their FTP service unreliable. Frequent configuration changes and throttled speeds exacerbated the issues already present with slow and inconsistent hotel internet connections.
Kaylin Culver, ZELUS’ Marketing Manager and a former assistant project manager, struggled through that time.
“We really depend on that upload. If we couldn’t get our data, we were kind of stuck because that puts the scanning team behind, which delays the modeling team,” she recalled. “It’s a domino effect.”
After experiencing three consecutive days of being unable to upload data, it became clear that continually sending “last-resort” drives back and forth was not feasible. ZELUS needed a more reliable, more secure, long-term solution.
ZELUS Chose Signiant Media Shuttle as Their FTP Alternative
In 2022, an internal research team at ZELUS, tasked with finding an FTP alternative, evaluated different solutions — five FTP solutions, three hotspot vendors, three cloud providers, and Signiant Media Shuttle. Initially skeptical about Signiant — an unfamiliar service to ZELUS — they were reassured to learn that it was widely used in the media and entertainment industry, where securely transferring massive amounts of data is a common requirement.
“A lot of the data we handle can be sensitive, so security was a huge concern for us for the sake of our clients,” explained Culver.
Media Shuttle, built on the Signiant Platform, is designed for person-initiated fast file transfer of any size file from any location. Designed to securely and efficiently move large data sets over the internet, Media Shuttle ensures high-speed transfers by leveraging Signiant’s acceleration technology, which overcomes the limitations of standard internet transfer methods. As part of the Signiant Platform, it offers robust security features, including encryption and secure access controls, to protect sensitive data, with detailed tracking and reporting capabilities.
“Signiant was chosen for their expertise and history and ability to handle large data reliably and securely,” Weaver said.
Two weeks of field testing showed no file size limits, transfer errors, or file corruption issues — and transfer speeds increased, even from poor network connectivity.
“We remained skeptical, honestly, even after subscribing because we weren’t receiving errors,” Weaver recalled. “But we’ve been running Media Shuttle now for two years, I don’t think we’ve received any data corruption.”
Media Shuttle saved that critical project out East. In a last-ditch effort, ZELUS switched to Media Shuttle and successfully uploaded all the data without corruption by the end of the day. This decision marked a turning point, reducing upload errors to less than 5% of their projects ever since.
The Value of Signiant Media Shuttle
From navigating large uploads and downloads to onboarding new users and verifying file transfers, Signiant Media Shuttle has simplified the lives at ZELUS and has been instrumental in keeping them on schedule and within budget for their projects. The move to Media Shuttle has addressed the critical need for an FTP alternative with fast, reliable file transfers that eliminate delays and rework due to transport issues, essential for their growth and the scale of their operations.
“We went from working out of a park pergola to having terabytes of data moving between a hundred different people,” Culver said.
As ZELUS continues to expand, undertaking multiple million-square-foot projects, the demand for efficient data transfer solutions remains paramount. The company operates on tight schedules with back-to-back projects, where even a single day’s delay in data upload can significantly hinder progress.
“It’s done a phenomenal job, and it’s definitely at an affordable point for the service it’s providing us,” added Weaver.
By utilizing Media Shuttle, ZELUS has experienced a drastic reduction in data transfer errors and delays, which has enhanced its overall productivity and efficiency. This reliability has not only facilitated seamless project execution but has also supported their rapid growth and ability to handle large-scale projects.
“It’s been a long journey, and Signiant is definitely helping with that,” said Culver.
ZELUS Problems Solved by Signiant
- Reliability — Files consistently arrived without corruption. Transfers automatically resume from the point of interruption, ensuring continuity without starting over.
- Speed — Accelerated file transfers eliminated the need to resend or delay files, saving valuable time.
- File-Size Limits — ZELUS was no longer constrained by file-size limits or required to pay extra to send large files, allowing for seamless transfers of any size.
- Scalability — As file volumes increased, the Signiant Platform scaled effortlessly to handle the load.
- Cost Efficiency — Signiant’s pricing model does not charge for bandwidth usage or payload size, providing cost predictability.
- Security — Leveraging Signiant’s secure reputation in the media industry, ZELUS benefited from enhanced data protection.
