Electric Theatre

Challenge

Electric Theatre Collective is a young, dynamic company working in the commercial post production sector. Launched in 2012 the collective has grown quickly, numbering more than 40 staff and providing creative post production input to some of the most popular and groundbreaking television programmes and advertisements airing in the UK. The company is based in the hub of the arts and entertainment industry in London’s Soho. Space here is at a premium and rents are exceptionally high. As an expanding business Electric Theatre Collective needs to accommodate a growing staff team and increasing technology requirements in a physical space where doing either can be challenging.

As a result selecting new IT equipment can include considerations beyond the purely technical. in addition to high quality performance three factors are crucial; power consumption, available office space and build quality.

Solution

The Huawei solution was a Tecal X6000 high density server. As Electric Theatre Collective had not used Huawei equipment before this was provided by supplier Big Pic Media on a proof of concept basis for three months. During this time it was put through a number of tests including running a range of software. It came through all the tests with flying colours and the proof of concept installation was replaced with a fresh unit which became part of the Electric Theatre Collective render farm.

The Electric Theatre Collective IT infrastructure includes around 40 computers, and when new equipment is added to the system it has to integrate perfectly with what is already in place. The Huawei Tecal X6000 high density server has integrated well with technology from other suppliers, and Electric Theatre Collective has been clear that it would consider Huawei as a supplier again.

Value

The Huawei Tecal X6000 high density server has helped Electric Theatre Collective work efficiently and effectively, meeting client demands and satisfying the creative needs of staff. It has been a great fit into the existing IT infrastructure and if evaluated in purely technology terms it is doing an excellent job. Very importantly, the solution also passed the stringent Electric Theatre Collective requirements for power efficiency and for heat dissipation. It has proved to be space efficient too, because it packs a number of processing cores into a relatively small space. This is important in an area where property costs are extremely high. Electric Theatre Collective were also impressed with the value for money it achieved, noting that Huawei provides more advanced solutions than some competitors similarly priced offerings.

This has a big benefit as it gives a growing company like Electric Theatre Collective confidence in getting the longest lifespan possible from its IT infrastructure.