CTERA Powering AET With Multi Cloud Global File systems

American Engineering Testing (AET), an environmental and engineering testing company, faced challenges in sharing large files and data with clients, particularly from its 20 regional locations, some of which had patchy internet connections. AET’s business involves unstructured data in large file sizes, including specialized industrial and scientific surveys using Autocad and ArcGIS software, as well as data generated by drone footage, thermal imaging, and more. Initially, local offices stored data on NAS storage, leading to maintenance issues due to multiple remote hardware locations. AET then centralized storage at its HQ data center, but this resulted in performance problems for some locations.

To address these issues, AET deployed CTERA hybrid cloud edge filers, allowing rapid local access to large files and sharing with clients. AET evaluated CTERA alongside competing solutions, but chose CTERA due to its ability to share files directly with external clients, a feature lacking in the other options. This solution provided a local cache for frequent access while connecting to a cloud for longer-term storage, ultimately improving file-sharing capabilities and overall performance for the company, even in areas with less reliable internet connections.