Radiance moves big files for ad agency

International advertising firm Leo Burnett was swapping work-related music with one of its clients via CD, which took a lot of disk burning and overnighting until the company found Radiance Technologies, a software service that delivers the large music files efficiently and verifies that deliveries are made.

The firm had tried an FTP site where files could be posted and picked up, but "It wasn't really reliable," says Don Peasley, a vice president and account director for Leo Burnett in Detroit.

Now Leo Burnett use Radiance's TrueDelivery system, which enables sending large files via an e-mail interface by attaching documents and recipients pick them up by responding to screen-pop notifications that files are waiting.

The software underlying the Radiance service consists of a software client on end-user computers, a collaboration node server at customer sites and a hosting center in Radiance's network where files are sent and posted for downloading by recipients.

Peasley says that when he wants to send a file he boots up the software client, which is called Courier, drags and drops the files he wants to send, addresses them and uploads them to the hosting center. Radiance also has a Web interface for machines without the client. Servers at the hosting center store the file and sends recipients notice that the file is available. Using Courier client software or the Web interface, recipients download the files.

All traffic between customers and the hosting center are encrypted with 128-bit SSL and are shipped over multiple TCP/IP sessions that have been multiplexed and configured to create the optimal packet size for that type of traffic, Radiance CEO Tom Engdahl says. The traffic is also compressed.

In addition to the Courier client, customers can install a Collaboration Node server at their site. This handles scheduling, compressing, encrypting and sending files. It also automatically receives files pushed to it from a Radiance hosting center so recipients don't have to use the WAN to download files to their desktops.

Radiance holds a patent on the technology that schedules transmission of files, figures out the optimum size for each packet and sets up the TCP/IP sessions over which the file is multiplexed, Engdahl says. The company claims it can boost use of a WAN link from between 25% and 33% that is typical for standard TCP/IP to as high as 80% because of its TCP multiplexing.

Peasley says his advertising firm routinely collaborates with other ad agencies and that often requires distributing files among them. Sending a single copy to the Radiance hosting center ties up less bandwidth on his agency's WAN than sending the files individually directly to multiple other agencies, he says. It also takes less time. He addresses a single upload to all the intended recipients and the hosting center takes care of notifying the recipients. Radiance also notifies him when the files have been picked up, he says.

TrueDelivery costs range from $5,000 to $100,000 per month depending on customer needs and the size of the deployment. Customers can access the technology as a service, license it or arrange for a combination of the two.