A reflection on how businesses were running previously and how they are running now, provides a deep appreciation for automation. Digital workflows are exactly that, automated steps carried out electronically to perform business processes while eliminating the manual processes that have been used for the longest time. Digital workflows enhance productivity and efficiency, help in increasing accuracy as well as ease scalability. While there are several ways businesses can move digital, throughout this article, the focus will be on cloud rendering and its importance in streamlining digital workflows.
What is Cloud Rendering?
Simply put, cloud rendering is the use of remote computing resources to render 3D animations, graphics and other digital content. Traditional rendering involves renders being done on a local machine, whereas a cloud render relies on cloud-based servers and other cloud resources. This means that cloud-based rendering reduces the upfront investment in hardware, among other benefits.
Benefits of Cloud Rendering for Digital Workflows
Rendering in the cloud means that one has access to a network of servers that can handle all sorts of projects, both small-scale and large-scale. This ensures that these projects are completed faster than it would have taken to render the project on the local computer. With increased speeds, the efficiency in running a business is improved.
Cost-Effective Solutions
As aforementioned, rendering on the cloud cuts the initial cost of investing on expensive rendering hardware. Businesses get to only pay for what they use, which is known as the pay-as-you-go-model. This model ensures businesses manage their costs effectively without sacrificing any rendering capabilities.
Scalability and Flexibility
Before cloud rendering was a thing, scaling up required a great deal of capital to purchase the required hardware. This was not feasible, especially when there’s a fluctuating demand. This is however not the case if one uses a cloud renderer, as it is very easy to scale up or down depending on the business’ demand. The process of scaling up is also very smooth and does not involve repetitive tasks of procurement and installation of new hardware.
Integrating Cloud Rendering into Your Business Workflow
Choosing the Right Cloud Rendering Service
Just like any service or product a business purchases, there are some factors to consider when choosing the right cloud rendering service for your business workflow. Some of these factors include:
- Pricing – This includes the subscription for the cloud render farm, data storage, and any additional hidden costs.
- Speed and performance – The two can be determined by the cloud servers’ hardware specifications like RAM, CPU and GPU. It is important to know how fast the cloud rendering service will process the render files.
- Ease of use – The user interface needs to be friendly to use and intuitive. The service too should be easily integrated to the already existing workflows and software.
There are several other factors to consider, but the most important thing to do is to ensure that the cloud rendering service best fits the needs of the business.
Implementation Steps
Integrating online cloud rendering to the existing business workflows is made easy by following these steps:
1. Analyze the current workflows and identify the pain points that will in turn help with defining the goals for the integration.
2. Conduct a deep search on the various 3D cloud rendering providers and select the best one for the business.
3. Create an account and configure profiles, security settings, and payment methods.
4. Ensure the business’ projects are well organized, and they are backed-up.
5. Upload and render the organized project files.
6. After the rendering process, download the output from the cloud service (if the service does not download them automatically.
7. Integrate the downloaded files into existing workflows.
Best Practices for Optimization
A well-optimized render cloud service involves both technical and strategic best practices that ensure maximum efficiency, great-quality output, and reduced costs. Some of these best practices include:
- Cleaning up project files before uploading to the cloud
- Play around with quality settings and make good use of render layers and passes
- Utilize the auto-scaling feature
- Conduct regular maintenance to the rendering software and other related plugins
- Ensure data is encrypted as well as backed-up
- Keep track of the rendering costs and usage
When best practices are adhered to, efficiency and high quality are achieved in the digital workflows.
Case Studies: Success Stories with Cloud Rendering
Red Bull media house, known for production of high-quality media content. High-quality content means that the tools or platforms they use should handle even the most complex projects and being that this is a big company, production needs to be fast. Red Bull adopted the cloud rendering services to improve their render farm processes, which integrated well with their existing media production systems.
Another success story is Ubisoft, a video gaming platform. There was a need to create complex game environments with great visual effects, and thus the integration of cloud rendering. They use the cloud service to handle high-resolution assets and large scenes.
The impact both companies have had as a result of cloud rendering include:
- Increased workflow efficiency
- Reduced costs
- High-quality output
- Faster production
Future Trends in Cloud Rendering
The cloud, in general, seems to have a promising future as new technologies emerge. The future of cloud rendering will definitely include AI and Machine learning. AI will be used to make predictions with various rendering resources and wholesomely improve overall efficiency.
The future of cloud rendering holds the next-generation GPUs with advanced capabilities. The GPUs will be more specialized for cloud rendering and will guarantee better performance.
It is very probable that in a few years, cloud rendering will be easily accessible to every business scale, including the small and medium businesses.
It is rather exciting what the future of cloud rendering holds, as there are a lot of promising enhancements and innovations that will transform digital workflows.
Conclusion
Undoubtedly, cloud rendering has incredible benefits for businesses that involve any form of digital creation. As the business playground becomes more competitive by the day, companies should leverage the use of cloud rendering to streamline their digital workflows. The reduced costs, increased efficiency and high-quality output should be the driving forces for cloud rendering adoption for every business out there.
For businesses looking to jump into the cloud rendering bandwagon, a recommended platform which is one of the best cloud rendering services to consider is RebusFarm.