GBBN Architects Enhances Work-Life Balance and Data Management with Egnyte

• Analytics & Modeling - Machine Learning
• Cybersecurity & Privacy - Network Security

• Buildings
• Education

• Product Research & Development

• Inventory Management
• Personnel Tracking & Monitoring

• Cybersecurity Services
• Data Science Services

GBBN Architects, an architectural design firm with over 150 employees across five offices, found themselves at a crossroads in 2021. Their on-premises N5 storage device running their virtual environment was soon running out of support, as were their Panzura appliances. The expiration of hardware and software licenses presented an opportunity to explore new technologies and providers. GBBN was also grappling with the challenge of managing company data more effectively. The IT team often received support tickets about missing projects, and without data usage reports from individual staff members, diagnosing the issue was a time-consuming process. Secure file collaboration was another challenge. GBBN had to give project partners access to their network, which posed a risk of inadvertent ransomware attacks. Tracking whether a partner user was still employed with the firm was also a burden. Given these challenges, GBBN began researching its options, focusing on their primary data requirements of global file locking, stability, and security.

GBBN Architects is an architectural design firm headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. The firm is focused on innovation in housing, healthcare, education, and cultural venue design. With over 150 employees across five offices in Ohio, Kentucky, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and China, they strive to deliver designs that not only result in great buildings but also positively impact people. With a geographically dispersed workforce, many of whom work remotely, GBBN Architects needed a secure and easy-to-use file collaboration platform.

GBBN Architects decided to switch to Egnyte, a platform that offered richer data usage reporting and collaboration capabilities. Egnyte's reporting features, particularly individual staff usage data and the machine learning applied to each employee’s use of data, were standout features. GBBN found overlap between features provided by Egnyte and those provided by their Project Information Management application, including sending large files, download tracking, file transfer link clicks, and outside party file requests. Once Egnyte was deployed, GBBN found immediate value in data usage reporting. The IT team could search for file changes and get results within five seconds. They also gained additional security features built on machine learning. Egnyte also made it easier for GBBN to collaborate with other architects by adding partners as another team member to their data source, giving them access to the project structure. However, GBBN could hide and protect confidential files and folders, ensuring their data remained secure.

• The implementation of Egnyte has brought about significant operational improvements for GBBN Architects. The firm has been able to eliminate the need for VPN, with project managers now able to access files from iPads or iOS devices, enhancing their mobility and effectiveness during client meetings. The data availability has also improved project site visits, with teams able to directly place image files in the project folder right from the site, saving time. The new system has also enhanced the firm's work-life balance, with employees expressing appreciation for the ease of access to work files even while traveling. Looking ahead, GBBN Architects plans to use Egnyte to manage old project files and stale data, with the aim of moving inactive files off active storage to archival storage, thereby saving space and money.

• Reduced time spent on resolving support tickets from two days to five seconds
• Achieved 99.9% VPN-free operations
• Enabled immediate file placement in project folders during site visits, saving time