South Park Studios Picks Atempo For Data Protection
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Famed animator uses Time Navigator to protect just-in-time production; out-of-the-box Apple support, granular backup and fast, accurate restore ensure South Park continues to delight fans
PALO ALTO, Calif., - January 10, 2006- Atempo today announced that South Park Studios, the creator of the Emmy award winning South Park animated comedy show aired on Comedy Central, has chosen and deployed Atempo's Time Navigator as its data protection solution supporting the animator's fast-paced just-in-show production schedule.
South Park started to look for a new backup infrastructure after the show's 8th season when its aging DLT 7000 tape library proved insufficient to hold saved versions of every frame of every show in the original wire frame format. Therefore, South Park went looking for as solution that could interface with its new LTO2 tape library and its three Apple XServe RAIDs configured into a storage area network (SAN) using Apple XSAN. The XServe RAIDs house all of South Park's production data. Apple recommended that South Park evaluate Atempo's high performance backup and restore solution, Time Navigator. South Park chose Atempo's Time Navigator because of its 'out-of-the-box' Apple support, extensive platforms and applications support, ability to perform incremental backups that support the South Park's tight schedules and rapid-fire show changes, right up to broadcast time. South Park is also planning to enhance its backup architecture by deploying its backup server on a recently purchased Apple XServe.
South Park's production process is unique among animators. South Park produces all its content in-house, where over 30 artists work right up until deadline, making frequent changes. Other similar shows often produce shows a full six to nine months in advance of the show airing; by contrast, South Park shows are produced typically within six days, though the record has been a two-and-a-half day turnaround. South Park backs up every four hours, in contrast to the single backup per day performed prior to Atempo. This means South Park, in the event of disaster, would only lose four hours of changes to the show's content, rather than a full day's work - which would destroy the tight production schedule that leads up to the weekly broadcast of South Park.
"South Park is monumentally popular because of the quality of our show achieved through an intense creative effort that occurs during the few days before the show airs. South Park artists make a great many changes right up to show time, and the result is a topical, relevant and cutting edge series that has attracted large numbers of devoted fans," said JJ Franzen, South Park's IT Director. "Time Navigator gives us the safety and security to pursue our unique and intense production process. Because we now have a data protection system in place that supports incremental backups we are now able to accommodate more frequent backups and restores if we need to make any critical last minute changes to the show."
"Time Navigator once again demonstrates its support of high-performance, high-demand businesses. We are excited to be part of South Park's critical IT infrastructure helping the studio achieve its production goals" said Steve Terlizzi, vice president of global marketing at Atempo. "This is another great example of Time Navigator delivering the breadth of advanced capabilities to meet the individual needs of our customers, in this case with backup times that meet South Park's tight production timelines."
About Atempo
Atempo is the leader in trusted information lifecycle management. Atempo's solution enables corporations to protect all their digital assets and secure those assets against tampering and theft over their information lifecycle. Atempo's Time Navigator software suite delivers enterprise-wide secure data protection and storage security, enabling corporations to meet critical business requirements including digital privacy, regulatory compliance, non-repudiated long-term archiving, and business continuity. Founded in 1992, Atempo has more than 2500 customers worldwide, with a sales and support network exceeding 100 resellers. The company's dual headquarters are in Palo Alto, CA, and Paris, France. Learn more about Atempo and its "Trusted ILM" vision at www.atempo.com.
Atempo and the Atempo logo are trademarks, and Time Navigator is a registered trademark of Atempo S.A. and Atempo, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
Contact:
Kam Hashim
Boston Communications
617-619-9803
khashim@bcww.com
