Entertainment Studio Expands Creative Environment Across Entire Campus with Wired, Wireless and Security Upgrades
Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company (NYSE: HPE), today announced
that Glendale, California based DreamWorks Animation (a division of
Universal Filmed Entertainment Group), creator of Academy Award ®
winning CG animated feature films, Emmy®-award-winning television series
and specials, and live entertainment properties for audiences around the
world, has retooled its entire campus network to create a mobile,
collaborative environment using HPE Aruba solutions.
Understanding the importance of a robust wireless foundation to their
collaborative culture, DreamWorks Animation decided to outfit its entire
11-acre campus with seamless connectivity to support employees
everywhere onsite and in remote offices. Supporting the company’s mix of
corporate-issued and employee-owned mobile devices was also vital. The
studio was upgrading from 60 percent to ubiquitous Wi-Fi coverage.
“It’s culturally expected that inspiration and productivity extend
outside of our offices,” said Keith McKay, DreamWorks Animation’s
Network Operations Supervisor. “In a creative industry like ours, a
mobile workplace allows us to work collaboratively anywhere, rather than
be tied to a specific location. Recently, we set an initiative to
upgrade the network and cover our entire campus with highly-effective
wireless connectivity.”
DreamWorks Animation turned to HPE Aruba, implementing Aruba
7200 Series Mobility Controllers with Aruba
802.11ac Wave 2 320 Series Access Points for the majority of the
organization’s indoor spaces, supplemented by Aruba
205 Series APs for remote offices. DreamWorks Animation also
deployed the Aruba
270 Series APs for outdoor coverage. The studio received support
from Golden
Star Technology (GST) for the warehouse storage. The outdoor spaces
across the campus are commonly used for both informal and formal
meetings, so having Wi-Fi that performs just as well outdoors as it does
indoors was crucial for the company.
As part of the network upgrade, DreamWorks Animation also wanted to
replace some legacy switches and conducted an evaluation before
selecting the Aruba
3810 and 5400R switches as the standard for edge connectivity. A key
factor in the studio’s decision was the 5400R’s ability to respond to
the security needs of DreamWorks Animation’s Information Security
department when paired with the Aruba
ClearPass Policy Manager, to provide the same high levels of
security to both the wired and wireless networks.
ClearPass was a key component for DreamWorks Animation in enabling the
implementation of secure, role-based access across the corporate network
and remote offices. With large volumes of mobile devices connected
simultaneously, enabling context-aware policy management that
automatically grants or denies users access privileges based on business
and security rules, was a huge benefit for the company.
DreamWorks Animation is also using Aruba
AirWave with Clarity to give the IT team visibility into potential
network connectivity issues before they happen. Aruba AppRF provides
information regarding the usage and performance of mobile and web
applications, so the studio can make quick decisions for prioritizing
business-critical apps when needed. Finally, the Aruba Network
Protector SDN Application helps DreamWorks Animation automate
network assessment and real-time security across the SDN-enabled network.
With the new HPE Aruba infrastructure in place, accompanying their existing
slate of HPE servers, storage and data center solutions, DreamWorks
Animation is confident that they can meet the needs of their creative
community of users and better support the company’s business goals.
“HPE’s innovative solutions, including leading-edge technologies from
Aruba, are core components in our infrastructure strategy,” McKay said.
“They are a trusted partner, helping us accelerate our key initiatives
successfully.”
Additional Resources
About DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Feature Animation (DWA) is a division of the Universal Filmed
Entertainment Group (UFEG). Its 21-year feature-film heritage includes
many beloved characters and animated franchises, including Shrek, Madagascar, Kung
Fu Panda, and How to Train Your Dragon. DWA's 34 feature
film releases have generated more than $13.5 billion at the global box
office, garnered numerous awards and fueled a robust consumer products
business.
About Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company
Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, is a leading provider of
next-generation networking solutions for enterprises of all sizes
worldwide. The company delivers IT solutions that empower organizations
to serve the latest generation of mobile-savvy users who rely on
cloud-based business apps for every aspect of their work and personal
lives.
To learn more, visit Aruba at
http://www.arubanetworks.com
.
For real-time news updates follow Aruba on Twitter and Facebook,
and for the latest technical discussions on mobility and Aruba products
visit Airheads Social at
http://community.arubanetworks.com
.
Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company
Pavel Radda, +1-408-419-0294
pavel.radda@hpe.com
Lori Hultin, +1-818-879-4651
lori.hultin@hpe.com