EMC Isilon Enables Corus Entertainment to Turn Big Data Into Broadcast Excellence

SEATTLE, Sept. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) today announced that Corus Entertainment, a premier integrated media and entertainment company in Canada, has deployed EMC® Isilon® scale-out NAS to transform its previous storage infrastructure into a simple, efficient, and scalable one. By implementing EMC Isilon scale-out NAS, Corus is able to streamline the management complexity of its data center, providing immediate, concurrent access to content and accelerating its production cycles from ingest to distribution.

Customer Benefits:

• Improved file access: EMC Isilon allowed increased concurrent file access from 15 to 200 simultaneous access points
• Simplicity: EMC Isilon IQ Accelerator nodes simplify content processing and reduce turn-around time from content ingestion to distribution
• Plug and play ease-of-use: EMC Isilon X-series nodes were up and running within 48 hours

"Corus owns 37 radio stations, and brings specialty and pay television programming to audiences across Canada. Our storage architecture needs to be fast and flexible," said Kevin Harkins, engineering supervisor, Corus Entertainment. "The EMC Isilon system gives us a single solution that takes care of storage management so that we can focus our efforts on developing great content."

In May 2010, Corus Entertainment consolidated its 11 disparate facilities, including all IT and engineering operations, into a one building, presenting an opportunity to assess its storage infrastructure. As part of this process, Corus identified the need to consolidate its TV storage operation and streamline its file-based data workflow. In the subsequent months, the IT and engineering teams changed out every application from scheduling systems, to video playback, to the infrastructure in between.

By deploying EMC Isilon scale-out NAS, Corus was able to unite storage, formatting, staging, delivery, and archiving into one file system with a single point of management. The move to Isilon delivered highly concurrent file access, going from 15 to over 200 simultaneous access points for Corus' artists and engineers, improving collaboration, productivity and efficiency across its entire workflow.

As Canada's leading specialty and pay TV broadcaster, Corus relies on strong distributor partnerships to deliver solid content to viewers. Corus turned to EMC Isilon and deployed Isilon X-Series nodes with Isilon SmartConnect®, software and an IQ Accelerator node to decrease turn-around time from content ingestion to distribution, simplify editing, and reduce overall IT costs.

"Corus runs a huge broadcast and production operation," said Sam Grocott, vice president of marketing, EMC Isilon. "An operation of that size needs storage that can scale in-line with Big Data growth and user demand. By moving to a scale-out NAS platform, Corus has demonstrated the transformative benefits Isilon delivers for Big Data-driven organizations."

About Isilon

Isilon, a division of EMC, is the global leader in scale-out NAS. We deliver powerful yet simple solutions for enterprises that want to manage their data, not their storage. Isilon's products are simple to install, manage and scale, at any size. And, unlike traditional enterprise storage, Isilon stays simple no matter how much storage is added, how much performance is required or how business needs change in the future. We're challenging enterprises to think differently about their storage, because when they do, they'll recognize there's a better, simpler way. Learn what we mean at http://www.isilon.com.

About EMC

EMC Corporation is a global leader in enabling businesses and service providers to transform their operations and deliver IT as a service. Fundamental to this transformation is cloud computing.  Through innovative products and services, EMC accelerates the journey to cloud computing, helping IT departments to store, manage, protect and analyze their most valuable asset -- information -- in a more agile, trusted and cost-efficient way. Additional information about EMC can be found at www.EMC.com.

About Corus Entertainment Inc.

Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian-based media and entertainment company. Corus is a market leader in specialty television and radio with additional assets in pay television, television broadcasting, children's book publishing and children's animation. The Company's multimedia entertainment brands include YTV, Treehouse, Nickelodeon (Canada), W Network, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network (Canada), CosmoTV, Sundance Channel (Canada), Movie Central, HBO Canada, Nelvana, Kids Can Press and radio stations including CKNW AM 980, 99.3 The FOX, Country 105, 630 CHED, Q107 and 102.1 the Edge. Corus creates engaging branded entertainment experiences for its audiences across multiple platforms. A publicly traded company, Corus is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (CJR.B). Experience Corus on the web at www.corusent.com.

EMC, Isilon, and SmartConnect are trademarks or registered trademarks of EMC Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.  All other trademarks used are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE EMC Corporation