Imagine the scenario: you’ve just completed a lengthy DAM vendor selection process, bought the software (let’s say you made the wise choice of Elvis) and had it installed. It’s an exciting day, but there’s still one step to go.
You need to get your assets online to start putting these exciting new features to use. And if you bought Elvis in the first place, the chances are we’re talking about a lot of assets.
With Elvis release 5.17 we’ve enhanced our Bulk Import feature for on-premise & private cloud customers - making it easier to import the files you really need so that you can get up and running more efficiently.
We figured this makes for perfect timing to explain everything you need to know about Bulk Importing files to Elvis.
What’s the best method of importing my existing assets?
Depending whether you have Elvis on premise, Elvis Cloud - or the increasingly popular Private Cloud, there are different options to import your assets.
On-premise customers
Our updated Bulk Import feature is the way to go. Essentially, you’ll connect Elvis to an existing server that contains all of your assets and the Bulk Import feature will help make importing as smooth as possible. Whilst the tool has been around for a while, this update brings some exciting new features:
- Unlimited file importing
- An import overview - to see what you’re about to import and filter out unwanted files
- A cleaned up user interface
The key point of difference here is the import overview. It provides a breakdown of all of the file-types in your archive - and with just a few clicks you can include or exclude those types you do or don’t want in your new system.
Removing the excess files from your legacy DAM system or file server will ensure you start with a nice and clean Elvis, making it easier to find the files that do matter. It gives the perfect opportunity to rid your system of useless, unnecessary, annoying file types (who really needs .DS_store files cluttering up their archives anyway?).
Private Cloud customers
Private-cloud is an increasingly popular option for Elvis users, offering the flexibility of a cloud-service with enhanced customisation and security features. With a private cloud hosted on Amazon Web Services, they also offer a hassle-free solution to get your assets in the cloud called Amazon Snowball.
Amazon will send you a physical, rugged hard-drive by recorded delivery. This is your ‘bucket’ - you simply connect it to your existing server and import your collection. When your import is complete, an e-ink display will automatically display the shipping information so you can post it back to Amazon. From there they will pick up your data and move your files directly to their cloud data center and within days, everything you imported will exist in an Amazon S3 bucket in the cloud.
Once your Amazon S3 bucket is all set up, you can simply import directly to Elvis using the Bulk Import feature.
Cloud customers
By nature of the software, most cloud customers have less assets to deal with than on-premise customers, so are largely able to process them from an existing file-server to the cloud without much issue. We’re working away to bring the Bulk Import feature to cloud customers too, but if it’s something you need urgently, get in touch with the team for a quick solution.
How long will it take to import my assets into Elvis?
It’s fair to say that if you’re looking at Elvis, you probably have a lot of assets that need importing. Whether your existing assets sit on an existing file server or a legacy DAM in need of an overhaul, we typically see a bare minimum of 50,000 assets for the initial import to Elvis.
Imagine this transfer happened at a speedy-sounding hypothetical rate of 1 file per second. This would take 15 hours to process the full 50,000 assets.
That’s not exactly terrible. But we’re seeing a growing average of assets - currently at anywhere between 500,000 to 10 million for initial setup. At the hypothetical rate of 1 file per second, this would take weeks or even months to import.
The great news is, unlike many other DAM systems, Elvis is completely scalable.
By adding additional Elvis processing nodes, it is possible to dramatically speed up the process - to the point where you could import billions of assets within achievable deadlines.
There are a number of variables that will affect importing speeds (disk-speeds or network bandwidth for example) but using the same hypothetical averages, our chart below demonstrates how import waiting times can be drastically reduced:
To smooth the setup process we always recommend you prioritize your business-critical assets uploaded first, then complete the archive second. That way, you can start using Elvis for day to day production as soon as possible, while your archive continues importing in the background.
To sum it all up
No matter how thorough your existing processes for storing, archiving, applying metadata or taxonomies, your initial import provides a great opportunity to remove some of those accumulated assets you really don’t need clogging up your system.
The new Bulk Import feature makes this spring-clean easier than ever, and with unlimited imports & our handy tips to speed up file transfer with processing nodes, you should be up and running the most efficient DAM system in no time.
Check here for new ways to customize your Elvis.
