Case Study
Global consumer behavior analytics leader drives cost saving due to 80% reduction in server capacity with UST’s secure file-sharing solution
OUR CLIENT
This global company measures audience behaviors and preferences, offering a wide range of analytics services to help companies predict consumer trends, uncover new opportunities, and reach target audiences. With operations in more than 55 countries, the company generates approximately $5 billion in revenue annually.
THE CHALLENGE
Developing a cost-effective, secure file-sharing solution for businesses
The analytics company wanted to reduce third-party costs associated with its content development and production system for the entertainment industry. During its cost analysis effort, the company pinpointed several expensive third-party services, including a secure file open tool. It allows users to securely distribute content files to external systems with features like watermarks, print/disable print, grant/revoke access after distribution, etc. The third-party license costs for this service were approximately $57,000 annually and required 10 servers. The company wanted to find an alternative secure file exchange solution that offered robust functionality at a more cost-effective price. Because the company was in annual contract renewal negotiations with several prominent entertainment industry clients, it wanted to design and deliver a new, cheaper solution before the existing contracts expired.
THE TRANSFORMATION
Delivering a feature-rich, cost-effective, in-house secure file-sharing solution
UST designed and delivered an in-house, secure file transfer solution with a deep feature set that requires 80% less server capacity and eliminates the expensive annual license costs. The solution seamlessly integrated into the analytics company’s content development and production platform, offering even more functionality than the legacy third-party service. For example, previously, users could only share a PDF or standard word processing file. Now, clients can share audio files—a critical element to entertainment content production—customize access controls for each client and use more robust security measures, like restricting downloads and limiting device access. Because the solution was developed and deployed using modern CI/CD software development practices, the company can release additional security features in the future to meet customer demands and keep pace with an evolving threat landscape.
THE IMPACT
Satisfied customers enjoy 80% reduction in downtime incidents with integrated secure file transfer service
After successfully launching the “secure exchange” solution in time for major contract renewals, several of the analytics company’s prominent entertainment industry clients immediately adopted the service and requested enhancements—including one of the largest production studios in the world. With a roster of happy customers, the company also realized these business benefits:
- Reduced costs—The new solution eliminated $57,000 in annual third-party licensing fees and only needs two servers instead of the 10 required by the third-party solution for a total annual savings of $62,300.
- Increased productivity—The IT team no longer has to manage the third-party license renewal process or deal with external support teams.
- Less system downtime—Users have reported fewer instances of downtime, from approximately five issues per year to just one, an 80% efficiency improvement, because the secure file exchange tool is integrated into the content production platform.
- Enhanced customer service—The analytics company can customize the security features to suit each client’s needs, boosting satisfaction and operational efficiency and releasing new features to meet customer demands.
- Better security and compliance—The IT team has seen a substantial reduction in the number of security incidents with the fully integrated tool.
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RESOURCES
https://www.ust.com/en/insights/six-tips-to-control-spiraling-cloud-costs
https://www.ust.com/en/insights/top-10-barriers-in-digital-product-engineering-overcoming-scalability-challenges
https://www.ust.com/en/industries/tmt-telecom