XenData is a
software company that provides digital archiving solutions focused on the
needs of the media and entertainment industry. XenData's digital video
archive flagship product employs an IT approach, using an open standard data
tape format and archiving to high-performance tape and RAID using a standard
file system interface.
The company was
founded in 2001 by Dr. Philip Storey and Mark Broadbent, both of whom had a
strong optical disk background. They saw the need for archiving solutions
based on RAID and tape, as optical disks fell behind in capacity advances.
Both knew that with the right approach and software tailored to manage RAID
and data tape, they would have a compelling solution.
After two years
of intensive development, the XenData digital archiving solutions were
introduced and later rolled out to a number of key markets including media
and entertainment, scientific and engineering applications and medical
imaging. Although still operating in many of these markets today, XenData
has carved out a significant position for itself in broadcast and the
broader media and entertainment industry, gaining a considerable momentum in
a short time.
Based on a
standard file system, XenData software makes the digital video archive
appear as a Windows logical drive letter which provides easy integration
with other standards-based systems. Video files are written to data tape
using the open standard POSIX tar format. This is important for long term
archives because it means that files can be restored for decades to come
using a wide range of native Linux and Unix operating systems, Windows
Services for Unix - as well as using XenData software. When these standards
based advantages are combined with the ability to deliver the high
performance required for today's demanding video applications, XenData
software provides a winning formula for the media and entertainment
industry. As a result, XenData has over 275 digital video archiving
installations worldwide, ranging from local TV stations to major post
production organizations and some of the largest global broadcasters
including the BBC, Televisa and the UK's Channel 4.
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