Backing Up Your Brain with MatrixStore Object Storage
Story Highlights
During most creative workflows there is a brain-like entity controlling what goes where and when. Be that a MAM, DAM, or PAM, it holds the keys to all the secrets and, more importantly, the paths to all the content.
Your brain-like entity does need to be looked after, of course, which often means regular database backups. The problem with these setups is that the brain holding all the metadata is extremely loosely coupled with the content itself.
They are both (database and storage) backed up on a daily basis but there is very little that ties them together as a logical asset, so it is very much a case of lose the brain – lose your content.
Self-Describing Content
What is needed to overcome this issue is the concept of ‘self-describing’ content, which is content that has embedded metadata that describes itself. We have this today in formats like Adobe XMP, AS10, AS11, IMF, and EXIT, for instance. In these cases the metadata lives ‘in’ the content, and thus is available to be indexed and searched by applications or platforms that can understand those formats.
This is where using a media-focused platform such as MatrixStore object storage can help. MatrixStore is as much about metadata management as it is about digital preservation, content governance, and scale.
Show Me the Metadata
Typically your MAM, DAM, or PAM will use a standard file system interface or the S3 API to move content into the archive, with options to archive the metadata as a flat sidecar file. Using LTO or generalist object storage, all that may be retained, if anything is the date, file name, and extension for you to search on. In some cases, the MAM, DAM, or PAM provider will export the content and metadata in a proprietary way, which again ties your data and your archive to that vendor.
With a media-focused object storage platform like MatrixStore from Object Matrix, that archived content can be processed in place to extract and index embedded metadata* which makes it searchable with any application using the MatrixStore API.
Future-Proof
The great thing is that Object Matrix will also export that metadata as a sidecar file when moving content to public cloud, ensuring it will always exist with the content and that you are not tied to any vendor to access the data and metadata you own. The benefit of keeping the objects (content and metadata) on-prem is that you have instant access to your entire archive at high speeds and predictable costs.
I Have a Vision
With MatrixStore object storage you can access that content, and metadata, using the amazing Vision media and metadata management application regardless of the application that archived the content. Now that is the way to future-proof your content and metadata!
If you need to implement a future-proof private or hybrid cloud storage platform and want to ensure you can always access the content you created and own, then get in touch.
To learn more about Object Matrix, click HERE.
