Significant Cost Reduction Driven by New Storage Architecture and Avere's Edge Filer Solution for Render-Rich Films

PITTSBURGH - January 16, 2013 - Avere Systems, a leader in network-attached storage (NAS) optimization, today announced Image Engine, a VFX company specializing in visual effects for feature films, has tapped Avere to dramatically reduce costs as part of its new storage architecture system. Since implementing a cluster of Avere FXT 3500 Edge filers, storage costs were reduced significantly for the Vancouver-based company whose involvement in feature films includes Zero Dark Thirty, Battleship, District 9 and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and Breaking Dawn.

"Our continued success has required us to do a greater amount of rendering which puts significant pressure on the servers and systems," said Gino Del Rosario, head of technology, Image Engine. "By leveraging Avere, we are able to scale as well as send and route massively large files without any challenges. The Avere architecture separates storage performance from storage capacity allowing us more flexibility to address studio needs in a compartmentalized manner - something our previous solution addressed in a totally different way."

Access to VFX software currently used by Image Engine runs through the Avere Edge filer cluster including all 3D and 2D applications. One of the key features that has proven to be helpful for Image Engine has been the analytics provided by the graphical user interface, which enables the company to monitor performance in order to pinpoint hotspots, IOPS and latency trends.

"Our Avere FXT 3500 Edge filers have proven to be extremely successful in handling the high I/O demanded by VFX applications," said Ron Bianchini, President and CEO, Avere Systems. "But what makes our products stand out from the crowd is the ability to provide extreme performance at a fraction of the cost of traditional NAS solutions."

About Image Engine
Image Engine provides world-class visual effects for feature films. With over 15 years in the industry and several award wins, the company has accrued feature film credits including the Academy Award®-nominated District 9, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse & Breaking Dawn, The Thing, Immortals, Safe House, Battleship and Zero Dark Thirty. Image Engine is a privately owned and run company, based in Vancouver, BC.

About Avere Systems
Avere Systems brings to the market NAS Optimization solutions designed specifically to scale performance and capacity separately and take advantage of new storage media using real-time tiering. Avere's FXT Series Edge filers allow organizations to achieve unlimited application performance scaling, free applications from the confines of the data center by eliminating latency and cut storage costs by more than half. Learn more at www.averesystems.com, and you can follow the company on Twitter.com/averesystems.

# # #

CONTACT AGENCY:
Rose Ross
Omarketing
+44 (0)7976 154 597
rose@omarketing.co.uk