Tyrell Take – Facilis Object Cloud

Like several storage providers nowadays, Facilis are trying to offer a cloud storage option. The push to cloud storage is something that’s happening across all industries and the M&E sector has somewhat been slow to embrace this, primarily this is due to the sheer capacity required for video files it’s still not always practical.

So, what makes Facilis Object Cloud so different?

To be honest, not a lot (but that’s a good thing!)

One of the features people like about Facilis is the simplicity of using it. The web GUI keeps it simple for end users, only giving them what they need, which means they can get up to speed quickly. Facilis’s entry into cloud storage appears to be in-keeping with this theory, with access to the cloud appearing as just a mount point in the software. Although in reality it’s actually a cache volume with upload to the cloud happening in the background. The data on the local disk can then be flushed but it still remains as offline file headers allowing the files to be searched and restored. As it appears as a regular mount it means with FastTracker you can set it up to generate proxies from master clips to the cloud for easy remote viewing whilst keeping the master clips on local fast storage.

Object Cloud works with existing Azure, AWS or Wasabi accounts. But what I think will really make this stand out is if you chose to use the Facilis storage option (which uses Wasabi) as there is no egress cost. This really makes Facilis’s solution quite unique amongst competitors who offer cheap storage. As with the cheaper competitive storage options you can get caught out with the download costs when you need your files back. The Facilis option potentially makes it a good alternative to LTO or just for short term-parking to free up space on in-house storage or even integrate with LTO to have the same cache volume represented on an LTO Library and Cloud storage. What’s also nice about it is it doesn’t require additional equipment or 3^rd party plugins, so any complicated workflows have been reduced and replaced with a simple drag and drop.

I guess at the end of the day it will come down to cost, but given it’s currently starting at under $3000 a year for 10TB it sounds like a very good deal compared to their competitors’ offerings.

One of the areas Facilis has recently been excelling at is thinking about making the software end user friendly and this cloud offering looks to be continuing with this.

Ross MacSween