Facilis enjoys APAC growth
Published: ASIA
APAC: Following a number of high-profile installations in Asia Pacific, Facilis has reported strong sales growth within the region for 2016. The manufacturer of turnkey shared storage, asset tracking, backup and archive solutions for media production environments specifies sales of its TerraBlock shared storage systems to ABS-CBN Corporation iPost in the Philippines and to its first Hong Kong-based customer, Taoist religious and cultural broadcaster Fung Ying Seen Koon (FYSK), as notable installations that have driven its expanded presence in the region.
In its statement, Facilis notes that ‘the active support of local channel partners was an important factor’, naming authorised reseller Media Village as having assisted in securing the order from ABS-CBN, while systems integrator Pictures Planes was reportedly key in designing, constructing and commissioning the FYSK’s new IT and broadcast infrastructure and studio and production facilities.
The installation at ABS-CBN saw the broadcaster acquire four TerraBlock 24D Hybrid 24 systems, which now support the facility’s network of 30 Avid Media Composer workstations. ‘We evaluated several other shared storage systems prior to making our decision and the Facilis TerraBlock out-performed all of its rivals,’ said Jessie Yamzon, head of postproduction at iPost. ‘Price and performance combined with its ease of maintenance were major factors that also led to the decision.’ Media Village’s team of workflow designers designed the setup.
Picture Planes, meanwhile, has only recently become a Facilis channel partner and is already citing plenty of interest in TerraBlock from its established client base. ‘We are impressed with TerraBlock. It is a flexible and stable shared storage system that is well suited to the dynamic and competitive Hong Kong market,’ said Francis Yeung, director of products and marketing at Pictures Planes. ‘We are optimistic of further major sales in the months to come.’
In addition to gaining new customers on the APAC region, Facilis has also announced a new customer installation in the Indian subcontinent. The company’s primary Indian channel partner, Wecom Global, was approached by Powervision TV to assist with the broadcaster’s transition from tape to a file-based workflow. This resulted in the install of TerraBlock systems to support eight Avid edit suites.
‘We have experienced a year of strong sales growth in the APAC region with new customers within the region,’ concluded Al Rao, VP sales at Facilis Technology. ‘Working with like-minded resellers is central to our strategy. Companies like Media Village and Wecom Global are long-standing friends and colleagues, whilst persuading Picture Planes to partner with Facilis was a boost to our sales effort in the region.’