Quantum: Beyond Performance to True Creative Freedom
Discover how creative.space delivers enterprise-level performance with ZFS technology in a simpler, more user-friendly package than traditional Quantum storage solutions.
By Nick Anderson, Product Manager for creative.space at DigitalGlue
In 2013, Quantum Corporation stood tall as the gold standard in media storage solutions. Studios and broadcast teams relied on their SAN infrastructure, confident that Quantum’s metadata controllers and expansive drive arrays would keep performance steady—even if it meant managing complexity and steep costs. Quantum’s decades-long legacy shaped industry expectations: exceptional media storage meant intricate setups, expensive hardware, and dedicated IT teams.
But the industry changed. Off-the-shelf hardware rapidly caught up, and advanced storage technologies like ZFS made proprietary, multi-tiered systems unnecessary. Suddenly, that legacy of complexity wasn’t an advantage—it became an obstacle.
The Quiet Revolution: Adaptive Replacement Caching
Today, something remarkable has happened. A compact, desktop-sized NAS system with just four spinning disk drives can deliver performance previously requiring massive SAN setups. How?
The answer lies in ZFS and its adaptive replacement caching technology. By intelligently utilizing available RAM, ZFS delivers SSD-like speed from affordable HDDs. The result is seamless, real-time performance, even when multiple editors simultaneously access and edit the same high-resolution media files.
Consider this scenario:
- Quantum’s traditional approach: multiple dedicated metadata controllers, hundreds of terabytes spread across expansive arrays, significant IT overhead, and continuous management just to ensure adequate real-time performance.
- creative.space’s modern approach: four standard drives paired with RAM-driven ZFS caching, delivering comparable or superior performance with zero complexity.
This isn’t incremental improvement. It’s a paradigm shift.
Beyond Performance: A User-Centric Experience
Performance alone no longer defines industry leadership. Quantum built its legacy around proprietary infrastructure designed for an earlier era. But today’s creative teams need more than just speed—they demand simplicity, ease of collaboration, and proactive support.
That’s exactly why creative.space was developed—not merely as a storage platform built around ZFS, but as an entire operating system and user experience meticulously crafted for non-technical video teams. Every aspect—from the simplified business model and intuitive web interface to proactive, fully managed support—removes traditional friction points.
- Instant Collaboration: Share any file, folder, or entire project instantly through a single link, accessible remotely without file duplication or cumbersome relinking.
- Proactive Support: creative.space includes fully managed infrastructure—no dedicated IT required. Teams focus on creative storytelling, not storage troubleshooting. Our secure connectivity solution continuously monitors your system to prevent issues before they occur.
- Transparent Pricing: An all-inclusive approach means no hidden costs, no complicated licensing fees, and no surprise annual charges.
Seamless Transition: Leveraging Existing Investments
Recognizing the investment many studios have already made, creative.space provides seamless upgrade paths. Existing Quantum hardware can be effortlessly transitioned to run the creative.space OS. This allows teams to protect their initial investment, escape costly support agreements, and expand affordably within a simpler, more intuitive framework.
Leading organizations like The Belonging Co., Seed Creative, and Brat TV made the switch, citing significant improvements in both performance and user experience, along with considerable cost savings. These teams transitioned effortlessly from complex management interfaces to intuitive, web-based collaboration—reclaiming valuable creative time previously lost to troubleshooting and administration.
The Future of Creative Workflows
The storage landscape has shifted. Teams no longer need proprietary complexity or massive infrastructure to achieve top-tier performance. The future is here—simple, powerful, and designed specifically for creative teams.
With creative.space, storage isn’t just faster—it’s practically invisible.
Your creative potential no longer depends on managing your storage. It’s unleashed by forgetting your storage exists at all.
