3 Tips for Optimizing Data Creation and Workflow Productivity When creating and managing sensitive data, it's important to have the right tools to keep those files protected and managed right.

From producing the latest blockbuster film to capturing the moment at a destination wedding to developing digital marketing materials, creating great content isn't easy. And when you have multiple people working on the same project, across job functions, well … things can become even more complicated. Something that is captured and created needs to be saved, transferred, offloaded, shared, and archived.

Content creators at major companies as well as independent creative professionals know these workflow struggles well. If a creative professional is going to do their best work while collaborating with a team of other professionals, then they need the right tools to get the job done. That's where Western Digital's SanDisk Professional brand of pro-grade storage solutions come in.

SanDisk Professional provides premium, purpose-built tools that aim to harmonize every step of the data-creation process.

"As a storyteller, it's important to me to have the right tools so I can share my vision with the world. The last thing I want is to compromise my life's work, so I need solutions I can rely on," says Lucas Gilman, owner of Lucas Gilman Productions, a California-based lifestyle, surf, travel and adventure photography and video production company. "When I'm out on location, SanDisk Professional's pro-grade products allow me to get out there and do what I love, without having to compromise efficiency."

Scalable and modular, the SanDisk Professional solutions aim to improve workflow when content is in motion. The lineup includes a full range of products such as pro-grade card readers, ultra-rugged portable drives, and more advanced solutions like its new PRO-DOCK 4 and desktop RAID systems with over 100TB . All are designed to work together to maximize offload and transfer efficiency. "As a lifelong fan of SanDisk and G-Technology products, I'm excited to see the new SanDisk Professional brand evolve and offer more purpose-bult solutions. No other brand gives me everything I need to keep up with my creativity [or workflow demands?] when I'm out in the field," Gilman says.

Here are three tips that creative professionals can lean on to help optimize data creation and workflow productivity when doing the work that they love.

1. Save and secure mission-critical data.

Whether you're a creative working in photography or video, or a professional in another industry who handles financial information, health-related documents, or anything else that's important to your company and customers, it's important to make sure that data is saved and protected. By keeping your information secure from data breaches or equipment failure, you are protecting your business so that you can continue operating without interruption.

One way to do this is with SanDisk Professional's G-DRIVE ArmorLock SSD. It comes completely locked right out of the box, shutting out access until the drive is unlocked with the app. Ejecting the drive automatically locks it rendering all content inaccessible. You can control who gets access to your drive and gain access to confidential files by pre-authorizing a phone or computer—no passwords needed.

2. Follow the 3, 2, 1 storage rule.

No matter what industry you're in or what types of files you're working with, always save important information in this way: 3 copies, 2 locations, 1 working copy.

It may seem excessive, but how many hours' worth of work do you have sitting on that drive? How many setups? How much post-processing? If you have three copies on three devices and you have them sitting on the same desk when a building catches fire, or in a bag that gets lost, or in a missing shipment or all together in a vehicle that gets into an accident, then everything is lost. The different media can help protect your data, and just helps bolster your redundancy.

You can utilize SanDisk Professional's G-RAID 2 enterprise-class 2-bay storage system and keep a second copy on another drive. Then, back up to a SanDisk Professional G-DRIVE SSD for speedy file saving and accessing. If the idea of losing your work makes you anxious, but you've been lax on backups in the past, you need to set up a system. Get your drives lined up, make a workflow, and automate as much as you can. It might take some time to dial it in, but once you do, you'll breathe easier knowing that everything you do is that much safer.

3. Backup and archive.

If you're not convinced that the 3-2-1 storage rule is necessary, then at bare minimum it's important to keep important work files on a high-endurance drive.

An archive of data may be necessary for business longevity (posterity of records/business transactions, archiving past work, etc.). Keep your back up or archived data on a larger capacity drive that can withstand various environments, such as SanDisk Professional's 12TB G-DRIVE enterprise-class desktop hard drive or the ultra-rugged 4TB G-DRIVE SSD portable solid-state drive.

Click here to learn more about how SanDisk Professional products can help optimize your data creation and workflow productivity today.