With offices in Brussels, Los Angeles, Paris, Amsterdam, London and Prague, the Caviar Group provides top quality content to the entertainment industry. Comedic or dramatic but always captivating, Caviar is constantly sharing data between locations on different continents. The group has around 100 full-time employees and works with hundreds of other top-notch freelancers. The ‘big concept’ in Caviar is storytelling: the creation of compelling characters with immersive and provocative material that makes audiences laugh, cry and call out for more. In an increasingly digital world, that means being able to rapidly and easily move data files backwards and forwards as stories unfold and content is finalized.

Graphics and audio-visual media files are typically bigger than text files by an order of magnitude – or more. That means high volume file access that cannot be handled by ordinary email. TV and Internet commercials, tele-fiction and documentaries, and complete movies need a robust application that is purpose-built for the job of large-size file sharing, synchronizing, backup and versioning, all with appropriate levels of user access and security. Only this kind of approach can let a visionary company like Caviar stay at the cutting edge of cross-cultural content creation.

The Caviar Group already had user access authorization in place with Active Directory NTFS permissions. Ideally, the file sharing and synchronization solution they were looking for would integrate directly into the existing structure without the need to implement an additional or proprietary system. FileCloud immediately scored points because of its compatibility with the Caviar security infrastructure. In fact, FileCloud integrates with all existing authorization systems. If Caviar chose a different security solution in the future, the compatibility of FileCloud would still be assured.

Additional ‘hot buttons’ for Caviar were the ease of use and the possibilities to adjust the user interface. Working with freelancers means an unknown range of technical awareness or capabilities. Caviar wanted to be sure its new file sharing solution could handle the lowest common technical denominator among end-users, while still giving IT staff a powerful, comprehensive set of administrative tools. The company made a thorough analysis of on-premises file sharing applications from different vendors. The conclusion was inescapable. In the words of Filip Herman, Group ICT Manager for Caviar Group, FileCloud was “by far the best on-premises file sharing solution.”.

As Caviar develops after its foundation in 2006, adding branches such as Caviar Digital to integrate its movie-making with the world of digital communication, mobile access to files becomes increasingly important. Whether on Android or iOS devices, employees and collaborators expect to be able to work together with high efficiency and no fuss. Being able to simply send a file-link to a correspondent instead of having to transfer the high-volume file itself is a huge productivity gain for all departments in Caviar, including content creation, sales, marketing and administration. The ability to easily brand FileCloud is also a way for Caviar to establish its identity and the right level of confidence with new freelancers too.

The last version made of a comedic viral or television drama is not necessarily the one that is finally chosen. Artistic creation means testing new avenues and directions while accepting that some may work while others do not. FileCloud helps the process with extensive file versioning to let users keep preceding versions of files that they can also easily consult and restore. All the information stays organized and protected. Caviar IT staff can adjust access permissions down to file level too to ensure that creative gems stay safe.

Filip Herman is indeed happy about the FileCloud implementation – “FileCloud has provided us a way to securely share our data between all of our offices.” He also knows that as technologies and markets progress, FileCloud will continue to innovate and lead as the solution of choice for CME (communications, media and entertainment) and for any industry that needs high quality, highly affordable file sharing and synchronization.

Take FileCloud product tour and learn why FileCloud is a better alternative to Dropbox for media production, and we outperform Egnyte, ownCloud, and others.