Asahi Television uses Dropbox for secure, external sharing and mobile streaming.

Challenge: uncontrolled consumer data transmission

Asahi Broadcasting Corporation, a leading television station in Japan’s Kansai region, doesn’t just broadcast over TV and radio—they have also been streaming shows online. The company also owns content that’s broadcast nationally, such as the panel show “Attack 25,” as well as show formats like that of “Shinkon-san Irasshai!” [Welcome, Newlyweds!] that they offer to international audiences.

They moved their data-sharing infrastructure, used by approximately 700 of their employees, from on-premises groupware to cloud services in 2013. During the switchover, a security policy was set up so that information could only be shared within the corporate domain. However, they noticed an increased need to share information outside the company, as Chiharu Kiyohara (Information Systems Department, Technology Office) explains: “Normally, we’d use email attachments, but occasionally we’ve used data transmission services for large files. The Information Systems Department can’t control how consumer-oriented services are used. Those kinds of services also make it difficult to track who is sharing which files, when they share them and who they share with.”

Solution: external collaboration made seamless

Data transmission isn’t the only way to make files available when outside the office. With shows that are currently in production, Asahi Broadcasting Corporation’s sales employees store the video files on their iPads or other tablets, like they would a sales brochure. While tablets are convenient to carry around, they’ve limited storage capacity, meaning only a certain number of high-resolution videos can be transferred to each one.

“Sometimes, you’ll have ten videos copied to your Apple iPad, but you want to showcase a video that isn’t on the device. Not being able to bring up information shouldn’t lead to lost opportunities. On the other hand, uploading content to consumer services that we can’t manage is also not something we want to do. So we decided to look at cloud storage that we could both stream from and manage ourselves” explains Kiyohara. 

Asahi Television Broadcasting Corporation looked into cloud storage to find a service that’d be a good fit for the staff visiting their business partners as well. The team performed tests to determine the synchronization speed of large files and the streaming of high-resolution videos stored in the cloud. After testing several services, they selected Dropbox as the winner.

“We were certain that Dropbox was the right cloud storage solution for our internal needs. It’s the most stable for uploads and synchronization, and is fast and simple to use. Additionally, other services require minutes of buffering time before you can stream high-resolution video, but on Dropbox, it’s instant. Dropbox also has selective synchronization, so we don’t need to worry about capacity. This means the storage solution takes advantage of the features of tablet devices like iPad, which are extremely portable and have a high-resolution display but limited capacity,” says Kiyohara.

Results: secure, monitored field access

Asahi Broadcasting Corporation distributed Dropbox licenses to interested volunteers, mainly salespeople who use high-resolution video at their destinations and employees using data transmission services. User satisfaction has improved thanks to Dropbox familiar folder structures, fast-syncing app, and cloud storage with excellent streaming performance. Information is shared externally through shared links and file requests.

“You can set a time limit and password for the link, which means you can share with peace of mind. Even if the person you’re sharing with does not have a Dropbox account, setting that time limit and password ensures security. Being able to request file access for a specific external user is also very useful.” — Kiyohara

Folders aren’t pre-created for each team, but are delegated to individuals or projects to use as they wish. The account is also managed with multi-factor authentication using Google Authenticator for security reasons. Access and activity logs are also monitored to meet audit requirements, enhancing control without restricting the freedom of users out on the ground.

Currently, the Information Systems Department is working to make use of APIs, says Kiyohara. The company is working with their partners to develop a mechanism for incorporating workflow into internal request systems and attaching files stored in Dropbox to requests.

“APIs are essential for systems that handle routine tasks. Routine tasks have a fixed flow, and human involvement carries a risk of operational error. We can solve these problems through automation, so we are currently working on using APIs to do just that.”  — Kiyohara