Success story
North by NorthwestIndustry• MediaSolution• OpenText™ Hightail™

Results
Improved client satisfaction
with easy sharing of large files
Accelerated efficiencyof feedback and approval cycle
Increased productivity
with tracking of file delivery
and downloads

North by Northwest simplifies client
experience with reliable, effortless filesharing solution
Video production company improves project efficiency and customer
satisfaction using OpenText Hightail to easily share multimedia files“One of the main reasons we went with OpenText Hightail—and the reason
that we keep it—is the reliability and ease of use for our clients. We liked
that you send a link, you open the link and it works. The client doesn’t
have to sign into anything. They click on the link, the video is there.
They hit Play and they watch the video. That’s it.”
Steve Simkins

Producer/Director
North by Northwest

North by Northwest simplifies client experience with reliable, effortless file sharing solution

Established in 1990, North by Northwest (NXNW) is a full-service
digital studio offering video production, web design, custom
photography and integrated digital solutions. With offices inWashington and Idaho, the company’s video production focus
includes corporate videos, commercials, feature films, televisionseries and documentaries.
The studio has a resourceful and unconventional approach tobringing its clients’ creative projects to life. Backed by innovativetechnology, the company is committed to making the client
experience easy and efficient.
“Our value as a company is our expertise and experience,” said Steve
Simkins, producer/director at NXNW. “Behind the scenes, it may not beeasy for us, but when we interact with the customer, we do our best
to make their experience easy.”
However, when it came to sharing large multimedia files with clients toget review and approval, the studio struggled to keep it simple. NXNW
experimented with a number of file sharing solutions, including FTP
and video-sharing sites, but they were unreliable and difficult to use.
“We send video files that can be anywhere from 50MB to 1.5GB. If theclient cannot open a video file and view it immediately, we lose theeasy factor,” said Simkins. “We needed a file sharing solution thatwas consistently simple, fast and easy to use.”

Several years ago, the studio discovered a solution that finally met its
needs—OpenText™ Hightail™. A comprehensive file sharing and creative
collaboration solution, Hightail allows users to share multimedia files
with a few mouse clicks.
“One of the main reasons we went with OpenText Hightail—and thereason that we keep it—is the reliability and ease of use for ourclients,” said Simkins. “We liked that you send a link, you open thelink and it works. The client doesn’t have to sign into anything. Theyclick on the link, the video is there. They hit Play and they watch thevideo. That’s it.”NXNW editors, producers and directors now rely on this indispensable
tool to send videos to clients for review and feedback. The studio’s
video editors, in particular, use the solution on a daily basis, including
the Spaces feature, a centralized repository that delivers client-readyfiles via dedicated workspaces, where videos can be viewed without
downloading them.
“We like Spaces because it looks good, it’s simple and it’s an easy
link. Clients can view it on the website. They don’t have to download
the video. That makes it easy,” noted Simkins.
The reliability and simplicity of the solution to quickly share files with afew simple clicks has increased efficiency.

“You can imagine what
happens when a person
can’t open the file that
I just sent them. Suddenly
I have to become an expert
at the file sharing softwareto help my client figure out
why they can’t open it.
A lot of times, it is user
error, but still you arehaving to help them figureout their computer. We
don’t have that issue withOpenText Hightail.”
Steve Simkins

Producer/Director
North by Northwest

North by Northwest simplifies client experience with reliable, effortless file sharing solution“Being efficient for us is a metric. Timing is everything for us. If weare working on TV commercials, we need to have edits done quickly.
Getting feedback immediately is very helpful,” said Simkins.

In addition, the ability to track delivery of files with Hightail has been akey benefit of the solution. NXNW staff receive email notifications whena file has been sent and downloaded.

Hightail has also simplified the process for staff. In the past, if a client
was unable to open a file, staff would spend valuable time trying totroubleshoot the issue.

“Tracking the file delivery, when it’s downloaded and who it goes tois very important to us. When we upload commercials to TV stations,
it can be challenging because sometimes they are unsure whoreceived it. With OpenText Hightail, we can go into our system andfind the exact time that they downloaded it. We are able to say, ‘We
sent that file to this email address and it was downloaded yesterday
at 3:45 pm,’” said Simkins.

“You can imagine what happens when a person can’t open the filethat I just sent them. Suddenly, I have to become an expert at the filesharing software to help my client figure out why they can’t open it,”said Simkins.
“A lot of times, it is user error, but still you are having to help themfigure out their computer. We don’t have that issue with OpenText
Hightail.”

At NXNW, the goal is to bring creative visions to life and deliver a client
experience that is remarkable and easy. Hightail has played an importantrole in that mission. Simkins said, “What we love about OpenText
Hightail is that it’s easy, it’s simple and it works every time.”

About OpenText

OpenText, The Information Company,
enables organizations to gain insight
through market leading information
management solutions, on-premises orin the cloud. For more information about
OpenText (NASDAQ: OTEX, TSX: OTEX)
visit opentext.com.
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