Speed, performance, high-tech. Just a few of the things that come to mind when you mention Formula One racing, which we have been heavily involved in since the season started this year. (Go Nico Hülkenberg and Paul Di Resta!) Interestingly though, these same words are synonymous with the demands of IT professionals today across many industries — which is why we set out just a few weeks ago to find out how these professionals are leveraging their IT to meet these demands. Roadtrip!
Kicking off the F1 racing season, we traveled to the Sahara Force India (SFI) Formula One racing team’s headquarters in Silverstone, United Kingdom to capture the SFI story and operations first hand — but we didn’t stop there. In fact, we interviewed several IT professionals from well-known companies like YouSendIt, Hi-Rez Studios and The Vermont Teddy Bear Company. In addition to some interesting travel debacles (including how to get a shower at Heathrow airport after traveling 12 hours, all before meeting SFI for the first time) and some unique food adventures, such as sampling a Vermont-style bacon cheeseburger with real maple syrup (which is the real deal by the way), what we came up with are the success stories of brands that have driven their IT to deliver speed and performance to their end users:
Sahara Force India:
Although SFI is technically the national Formula One team of India, they pride themselves on being a global team with a worldwide fan base. In order to reach this global audience, SFI created a new interactive website, ForceIndiaF1.com, that acts as a portal to integrate the team’s social media with real-time video, news and information. In doing so, they created fast, streamlined communication with fans through a single web site portal. Watch their story.
YouSendIt:
With more than 30 million registered users in 193 countries, YouSendIt helps enterprises and business professionals streamline collaboration by enabling them to instantly sync and access content in the cloud, send files, share folders and sign documents from anywhere — the desktop, Web or mobile devices. Watch their story to find out how YouSendIt increased scalability to rapidly grow with its exponentially expanding customer base.
Hi-Rez Studios:
Hi-Rez Studios, Inc., located just outside of Atlanta, GA, is a fully independent studio established in 2005 to create exceptional online interactive entertainment. Hi-Rez Studios has released two free-to-play self-published titles, the AAA shooter, massively multiplayer online (MMO) game: Global Agenda, and the fast-paced, sci-fi multiplayer shooter game Tribes: Ascend™. Check out this video to see how they successfully launched these two games to a worldwide audience, supporting traffic growth from 100 gigabits per year to over 1.6 petabytes per month.
Vermont Teddy Bear Company:
The Vermont Teddy Bear Company has been creating personalized bears since 1984. Through the years, Vermont Teddy Bear has created several sister companies, including PajamaGram and Calyx Flowers. Network traffic greatly affects Vermont Teddy Bear’s business, especially since 80% of their products are sold online. Watch how the company supported a 700% spike in traffic with no downtime this past holiday season by clicking here.
In businesses where speed and performance are paramount to success, it only seems fitting to choose a IT Infrastructure solutions partner that is equally concerned with these demands. Watch the videos above, then build a “performance package” to get a custom solution for the way you drive your IT.
