The media IT specialist will now be working with the storage giant’s enterprise group, which will bring new benefits to its broadcast and facilities clients.

London, UK – 28 September 2020: ERA, the leading IaaS and IT workflow systems provider for the broadcast, post-production and media sectors, has been appointed a Gold Partner by Seagate Technology plc (NASDAQ: STX). This gives the data storage leader further access to the entertainment production market and makes ERA one of only five Gold Partners in the UK.

ERA provides workflow infrastructures and storage systems from its data centres and at clients’ premises. It offers managed services, remote editing, cloud connectivity and storage, IAAS (infrastructure as a service), system maintenance, disaster recovery (DR) and consultancy to leading broadcasters, facilities and educational institutions. These include Absolute Post, Evolutions Post, Rapid Pictures, Jellyfish Pictures, STV and Warner Brothers.

Many of the systems used by these companies incorporate Seagate data storage. ERA has been working with the manufacturer for some time from a drive perspective, incorporating them into storage arrays. Gold Partner status means ERA will now be working directly with Seagate’s enterprise division, with the ability to build high density-high capacity SSD or SAS storage into its systems.

“We have had a vendor-partner relationship with Seagate for a while,” comments Sean Baker, commercial director of ERA. “Becoming a Gold Partner means we will be working on a larger scale, with the opportunity for better pricing and direct access to marketing and in-depth technical support. We will continue to offer other storage brands, but Seagate is our go-to for the core of what we do. We will always provide what is best for the client in terms of performance, reliability, support and value for money.”

Among the specialised storage products from Seagate, ERA will be offering the 4U106 which, when teamed with Seagate’s largest capacity 18TB drive, can offer 1.9PB in a single box. “Seagate produces the biggest and densest storage boxes today,” Baker adds. “They create the latest technologies and are able to bring them to the market before anyone else.”

Andrew Palmer of the Enterprise Data Solutions Group at Seagate Technology commented, “ERA is a recognised leader in workflow and infrastructure for the broadcast and facilities sectors. They have been a key partner for us and have enabled Seagate to move further into the media and entertainment industry. With their new position as a Gold Partner, ERA and Seagate will be working even closer together, an alliance that will bring great benefits to the clients.”