Corus Entertainment Deploys EMC Isilon

EMC
Corporation announced that Corus Entertainment, Inc.,
an integrated media and entertainment company in Canada, has
deployed Isilon scale-out NAS to transform its previous storage
infrastructure.

By
implementing EMC Isilon scale-out NAS, Corus is able to streamline the
management complexity of its data center, providing
concurrent access to content and accelerating its production cycles from ingest
to distribution.

Customer
Benefits:

• Improved
  file access: EMC Isilon allowed increased concurrent file access from 15 to 200
  simultaneous access points
• Simplicity:
  EMC Isilon IQ Accelerator nodes simplify content processing and reduce
  turn-around time from content ingestion to distribution
• Plug
  and play: EMC Isilon X-series nodes were up and running
  within 48 hours

"Corus owns 37 radio stations, and brings
specialty and pay television programming to audiences across Canada. Our
storage architecture needs to be fast and flexible," said Kevin
Harkins, engineering supervisor, Corus Entertainment. "The EMC Isilon system gives us a single
solution that takes care of storage management so that we can focus our efforts
on developing great content."

In
May 2010, Corus Entertainment consolidated its 11 disparate facilities,
including all IT and engineering operations, into a one building, presenting an
opportunity to assess its storage infrastructure. As part of this process,
Corus identified the need to consolidate its TV storage operation and
streamline its file-based data workflow. In the subsequent months, the IT and
engineering teams changed out every application from scheduling systems, to
video playback, to the infrastructure in between.

By
deploying Isilon, Corus was able to unite storage,
formatting, staging, delivery, and archiving into one file system with a single
point of management. The move to Isilon delivered concurrent file
access, going from 15 to over 200 simultaneous access points for Corus’ artists
and engineers, improving collaboration, productivity and efficiency across its
entire workflow.

As
a Canada’ specialty and pay TV broadcaster, Corus relies on strong
distributor partnerships to deliver content to viewers. Corus
turned to EMC Isilon and deployed Isilon X-Series nodes with Isilon
SmartConnect, software and an IQ Accelerator node to decrease turn-around time
from content ingestion to distribution, simplify editing, and reduce overall IT
costs.

"Corus runs a huge broadcast and production
operation," said Sam Grocott, vice president of marketing, EMC Isilon.
"An operation of that size needs
storage that can scale in-line with Big Data growth and user demand. By moving
to a scale-out NAS platform, Corus has demonstrated the transformative benefits
Isilon delivers for Big Data-driven organizations."