The Denver Broncos Turn to Ipswitch to Enable Easy and Secure Sharing of Large Files

Easy to use, simple and secure file transfer system improves communication and employee productivity.

The Challenges

Marketing an NFL football team like the Denver Broncos takes tremendous teamwork both within the organization and with external business partners. Video and graphics partners, corporate sponsors, special event customers, employees, and other stakeholders all need up-to-date files at their fingertips. For the Broncos, the sheer volume of data - and size of the files – exchanged on a daily basis – from high definition video footage and high resolution graphics, to detailed football statistics – is staggering and growing exponentially.

Burning data to a DVD, USB stick or hard drive and using a messenger to physically exchange files was a common practice, but this proved to be time-consuming, inefficient and introduced significant security risks. Partners’ file-size limitations and security concerns made transferring the information by email virtually impossible. Most IT departments place limitations on the size of files that can be sent via email and high definition video and audio files as well as graphics files often exceed these limits. Even if a user is able to send a large file, it can still be rejected by the receiver’s email system, often without notifying the sender that delivery was unsuccessful.

Because security and governance was so important, the Broncos needed to look beyond lightweight file sharing tools:

• Size and volume of graphics and video files has increased exponentially
• Physically exchanging files (burned onto a DVD) is time-consuming and inefficient
• Email exchange of files is virtually impossible due to file size restrictions, and lack of delivery receipt
• Using different consumer-oriented, cloud-based services poses significant usability and security concerns

The Vision

With the limitations and inefficiencies of these traditional methods of data exchange, the Denver Broncos needed a more effective system to share files – both internally between employees and departments, and externally with partners and sponsors. They needed this system to be easy to use for employees and partners, but also one that would allow IT to maintain control of the data… all while reflecting their organization’s nationally recognized brand.

They needed to ensure that the exchange of information – and the method used – was reliable and consistent throughout their organization, and presented a unified, professional appearance to their external partners. Keeping proprietary data secure and private – with only the intended recipients able to view data being exchanged – was critical.

The Solution

To meet their needs, the Broncos turned to Progress® WS_FTP® Server. This simple, secure, and compliant file transfer server provides guaranteed delivery of files while allowing the Broncos’ IT team administrative control over server access and user permissions. The Broncos also deployed the accompanying Web Transfer Module so even non-technical employees and external business partners can use their browser to share files, data, and other critical business information easily and securely – all with no additional software training required. Users can even create separate folders for individual clients so that the confidential files being exchanged remain private and protected.

“The free trial was easy and we were given fantastic technical support” says Chris Newman, Information Technology Architect for the Denver Broncos. “The ability to enable end users to easily transfer files with their browser as well as the technical support provided by Ipswitch made choosing WS_FTP solution an easy decision.” Newman also liked that Ipswitch offers a portfolio of file transfer products: “Overall, Ipswitch provides exactly what we need now, with the ability to expand and grow our solution as it becomes more integrated in our daily workflow.”

• WS_FTP Server is a simple, secure, and compliant file transfer server that is easily installed in minutes
• Web Transfer Module allows users to upload and download files with WS_FTP Server using their browser, with no additional software or training required
• IT administration of server access and user permissions guarantees secure, confidential delivery of files

Ease of Rollout and Customization

Once the Broncos installed WS_FTP Server and the Web Transfer Module, they needed a subset of their large, multi-department organization to put the solution to the test, under real-world pressures. The variety of external partners and large number of files exchanged with clients on a daily basis made the Broncos’ Creative Services department the ideal candidate to pilot the implementation. “Since we work primarily with large video files, speed and space were always an issue,” notes Nick Young, Broncos’ Creative Services Manager. “With the implementation of Ipswitch technology, I have been able to easily and quickly push and pull large files, allowing me to access files and begin working on projects right away. The efficiencies are huge!”

In an organization that deals with large files on a regular basis, having a secure file transfer server is an industry expectation. With a great deal of public visibility, having that solution maintain the professionalism and image of the Broncos‘ brand was equally critical. “Our external partners are thrilled with this approach verses the traditional systems,” observes Broncos’ senior marketing manager Sandy Young. “Our partners expected the Broncos to have something, but they never expected the implementation to look as good as it does. It blows folks away.”

This graphic customization of the Web Transfer module was completely straightforward. IT simply provided the specifications detailed in the user manual to their Creative Services department. “It was easy,” explains Newman. “Once I had the files from graphics it took maybe 45 minutes to do the actual technical customization.”

The Broncos’ Creative Services and Sponsorships departments are now using the system on a daily basis, with other departments clamoring for access. The solution’s ease of use was critical for adoption. “Just give your client a link, with a username and password, and the file is there,” says Young. “It doesn’t get much simpler than that!”