Egnyte in Life Sciences: Easing the Acquisition Process

“We don’t want files on the devices, which is really hard to do with Dropbox. There is no way to point to a local file server because it’s not managed that way.”

Aaron Froberg

Director of Global Infrastructure • Bio-Techne

The Challenge

Bio-Techne has been acquiring companies at a rate of three-to-five companies per year.

“We constantly need to integrate networks. Taking possession of file servers that function like islands of data centers, strewn across global locations.”

File sharing at Bio-Techne lacked unity which worsened as it acquired more companies. Acquisitions like the Protein Platform Division were exclusively using Dropbox, but this lacked the enterprise-grade controls Bio-Techne needed to protect Intellectual Property (IP). For example, once users were added to a folder, they couldn’t restrict access to subfolders; creating a security nightmare.

“We don’t want files on the devices, which is really hard to do with Dropbox. There is no way to point to a local file server because it’s not managed that way.”

Bio-Techne needed a single source of truth for all files, everywhere. As a life sciences company, security was important, not only for IP, but for data regulation compliance, including FDA, Sarbanes Oxley, HIPAA, and GDPR. The solution needed to be secure, efficient, scalable, user-friendly and cost-effective. It also had to be flexible enough for newly acquired organizations to adopt it easily without any gaps in security or productivity.

Benefits

Egnyte delivered a single source of truth for all of Bio-Techne’s files, and provided all employees with uninterrupted access to content from any device, anywhere.

“Bio-Techne now has an efficient way to share files across any internal system. By moving to cloud-based file services, we can get tenants set up in minutes. And once that’s set up, everybody from every site, regardless of what network they are on, are able to set up permissions and share files within the company and with external customers.”

Aaron Froberg

Director of Global Infrastructure

Egnyte unified the data and processes of Bio-Techne’s acquisitions, but additional benefits included:

Streamlined M&A’s:

• “Data rooms” are created to allow only those permissioned to access folder content. This enables secure file sharing with new companies without the fear of a data breach.

The acquired company’s data is incorporated during onboarding which consolidates infrastructure needs and reduces maintenance costs.

Remote access to large files:

• Employees can access, share, and store any file remotely (videos, CAD files, or any large file), regardless of location and without a VPN.

Security and compliance maintenance:

• Granular file permissions such as read-only and non-shareable settings, content access alerts, and non-inherited permissions provide IT visibility and control over important content.
• GDPR, HIPAA, and FDA compliance is maintained through reports, alerts, and awareness of where data resides while maintaining a record of that data.

The Results

"The biggest impact Egnyte has had on Bio-Techne is the ability to effectively collaborate across all of our offices. It’s really been a lifesaver with regards to working together as a team and sharing data across the globe.”

Bio-Techne saves time by being able to store, centralize, track, and share files with consistent methodologies across all of its business units. As more companies and employees join the Bio-Techne fold, they’re on the same page when it comes to file sharing, and sensitive content is always secured.

Cost savings have come from a variety of sources, including:

• Integrating acquired companies’ infrastructure with savings of thousands of dollars monthly per acquisition.
• Centralizing the storage of files with seamless workflows from integrations with other SaaS platforms, such as Salesforce, Smartsheet, and Microsoft Office 365.
• Removing disparate products and practices used for file sharing.

Egnyte’s hybrid-based file-server model has created a single, centralized source for all of Bio-Techne’s files, giving the company the freedom to continue what it does best.