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Web Designer Solves Disappearing CD Issue
Web site design company, Reactive Media in Fitzroy, has implemented a simple and cost effective solution that will prevent its archived CDs from disappearing from the folder in which they were stored.
With clients such as Visy, Mt Hotham, Esanda, Officeworks, Tribeca Corporation and the Australian Synchrotron, Reactive has developed a new disc management strategy to archive its artwork and accounts.
When completed projects are no longer available over the network and removed from the server, they are archived on to disc.
Reactive's IT Manager Mark Moynihan, said an Imation Disc Stakka had recently been installed and the hundred or so backup CDs that were previously stored in a big folder were being converted and saved on to DVDs.
"We've now got about 35 discs that have been placed into the Disc Stakka and we have automatically and manually entered their titles and content into the OpdiTracker database that comes with the unit. This process took no time at all," said Mark.
Reactive Media has 16 employees, all of whom regularly access the archived discs.
"Before using the Disc Stakka we would spend hours looking through a folder that contained about one hundred discs," he said. "Now it takes just a few seconds for the search process to find and eject the right disc, so productivity has really increased."
And when someone wants to find a particular file, it is a simple matter of typing in a keyword or phrase and the OpdiTracker software finds the disc required from the hundreds of gigabytes of stored data.
"A benefit of using the Disc Stakka is that when any of the designers or admin people want to retrieve a disc, they must enter their name on the computer. The database shows they have taken the disc so it is easy to track it down if someone else wants it," said Mark.
The Imation Disc Stakka holds up to one hundred 12 cm discs and is linked to a PC or Mac computer via a single USB connection supplying both power and data. Units can be stacked up to five high to create a tower that holds 500 discs without needing additional cables or desk space. The system can be expanded so that 50,000 discs are managed from the one computer.
"Even replacing the disc into the unit has been streamlined," said Mark. "When the disc is slipped into the Disc Stakka, the software provides a prompt to identify who the user is and what disc he or she has returned. They just have to tick the right disc and nothing more has to be done. It is extremely user friendly."
Reactive Media has installed the Disc Stakka on a standalone computer that is used to test web sites. This dual-purpose box is located where the designers are located and everyone has access to it.
"Our new disc management strategy of having all the backup discs "virtually online" and another set of discs offsite in case of an emergency is a responsible and cost efficient way to operate. Disc Stakka is working really well and everyone has given it two thumbs up!," he added.