How Egnyte Storage Connect Enables Mobility while Providing Security for Hedge Funds

RFA has managed the technology needs of hedge funds for over two decades and we’ve watched the landscape evolve to become increasingly reliant on web-connected applications and services. As part of this move towards service-based technology, we developed the RFA Cloud Platform, a secure, feature-enhanced IaaS offering designed around the needs of our clients. When designing the RFA Cloud Platform, it was crucial to deliver a reliable, secure platform that users could depend on to host their most sensitive data. This data can include intellectual property (IP), financial records and information surrounding each firm’s client base that needs to be handled with the highest degree of confidentiality.

By implementing Egnyte’s Storage Connect technology for data and applications on the RFA Hosted Cloud, we can provide a key service to enable business agility: mobile delivery. Storage Connect benefits our security-minded clients because it provides access to data stored behind the corporate firewall. Confidential IP never leaves our data center; it is simply accessed through a secure mobile app, where users can view and work on files. The business impact of the solution is immediate. Users no longer rely on third-party file-sharing services or resort to emailing files back and forth, leading to version control mistakes as well as concerns with data being stored locally on devices that can be lost or stolen.A fund manager who has implemented the Storage Connect solution for his firm’s RFA Cloud Platform file server recounted to me how the service had proven its usefulness shortly after implementation. His schedule included back-to-back speaking engagements at conferences. This meant he would be out of the office for a full business week, equipped only with his tablet and smartphone. Previously, he had to rely on assistance from colleagues in the office who would email him edits to his slide decks and notes, causing confusion surrounding updates and accuracy. With Storage Connect, the fund manager was confident that the information he accessed on-demand would always represent the most up-to-date presentation material, without any time delay involved in waiting for files to be emailed to him. The solution diminished stress, improved collaboration and resulted in the seamless delivery of both speaking engagements, even in light of his aggressive travel schedule.Egnyte provides technology that meets our clients’ need to balance data security with mobility. By providing user-friendly access to corporate data that resides in RFA’s data center, Storage Connect speeds business and increases the value of an infrastructure investment.

Grigoriy Milis is the Chief Technology Officer at RFA. As CTO, Grigoriy is a 16-year IT veteran with more than 13 years of experience working in the financial industry.  He is responsible for managing all aspects of infrastructure design and leads the R&D team in the evaluation and testing of new technologies. Grigoriy also manages the Systems Architecture team that handles high-level escalations from all technical departments. Prior to joining RFA, Grigoriy worked for Thomson Financial. He holds master's degree in Computer Science and numerous industry certifications from Microsoft and EMC.