NAB: Arrow Bundled NetApp Storage With axle ai Software 

Arrow Distribution announced availability of a range of integrated solutions for corporate and university video teams based on NetApp, Inc. storage systems and software from axle ai, Inc.

The three companies have joined forces to provide solutions not only store, but to manage and provide instant user access to hundreds of terabytes of video content.  Both of the bundle suppliers have a presence at April 2019 NAB show in Las Vegas, NE.

There is an explosion of video content. Over 100EBs of storage are devoted to media storage annually, and approximately 250,000 video teams are responsible for capturing, editing and managing this content. Traditional uses of network storage, such as email archiving or corporate records are increasingly migrating to the cloud. At the same time, video files have become large and numerous enough, and ongoing capture is so pervasive, that uploading them to the cloud is often impractical.

The three partners are making the solutions available in three configurations, 100TB of usable storage space (VM100), 200TB (VM200) and 400TB (VM400).  All three configurations include NetApp’s storage architecture, with 10GbE network interfaces and NetApp’s FAS architecture.

Each configuration also includes an Intel-based application server running a 5-user version of axle ai 2019, the a simple video search software.  The software includes a browser front end allowing multiple users to tag, catalog and search their media files, as well as a range of AI-driven options for automatically cataloging and discovering specific visual and audio attributes within those files. Given the large amounts of video – often terabytes – that can be accumulated by a video team in a single shoot, this system allows rapid search and management of those files.

Sam Bogoch, CEO, axle ai, said: “For years, customers have expressed the need for a simplified and cost-efficient way to store, search and manage their content.  Legacy solutions for broadcasters have been expensive and complex, but Arrow’s bundles manage to bring state-of-the-art AI and media asset management capabilities to the corporate and educational customers who most need them. With these bundles, we are able to provide a tailored solution through Arrow’s nationwide network of resellers, and meet the needs of video teams as well as the IT departments who serve them.“

The 3 solutions, VM100, VM200 and VM400, are available through Arrow’s national reseller network.

Pricing:

• Video Media Manager Entry – VM100 – $49,995 MSRP
• Video Media Manager Mid$level – VM200 – $89,995 MSRP
• Video Media Manager Enterprise – VM400 – $129,995 MSRP

Additional software upgrades include 5- and 50-user expansion packages, as well as axle ai’s video metadata services including face recognition, object recognition, speech transcription and automated sports analysis, and axle ai’s new connectr workflow solution.