As the year comes to a close, it’s normal for CEOs to reflect on the preceding 12 months. This is a special time in the history of Egnyte, so this look-back can only be done with the additional perspective of the past 12 years, as well as a look forward to 2020.

Data is the lifeblood of the life sciences. As therapeutics, medical devices, and diagnostics advance from early-stage development into clinical testing and beyond, the scrutiny of reported data and procedures dramatically increases. Dating back to the 1990s, many pharmaceutical and biotech companies have implemented systems and processes to store, exchange, and analyze regulated data from environments governed by GxP (e.g, clinical trials, manufacturing, toxicology, etc.).

No one is a stranger to the notion of security. We protect our homes and physical assets with locks and cameras and are vigilant when we encounter abnormal behavior. But for some reason, the data entrusted to us is not always given the same type of protection. That data has become a prime target for cybercriminals which is manifested in the form of ransomware attacks, which are increasingly prevalent.

The great management thinker, W. Edwards Deming, famously said something to the effect of, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” It’s hard to argue with Deming’s logic, but there’s a consideration that comes before measurement, and that’s discovery. Before anyone measures or manages anything, they have to be able to accurately find and understand the things being measured, managed, improved, and transacted.

Business leaders who are responsible for providing users with access to their company’s intellectual property also realize the importance of keeping it secure. They are also likely championing the advantages of digital transformation as a way to improve their own company’s operations while delivering a more secure environment for data, workloads, and users.

Do Files Matter? As Chief Customer Officer of Egnyte, I get to meet many of our customers and influencers. This is immensely invigorating for two reasons – it helps me get our POV out to the market in an old school, door to door sort of way but more importantly, keeps me on an arc of continuous learning to shape our approach to the market. While this process has played out well over the last several years I have simply run out of time to meet everyone as Egnyte grows.

On December 23, 2017 the Thomas Fire, which at the time was the largest wildfire in the history of the State of California, approached the Santa Barbara campus of Westmont College. Students, faculty, and staff could see the smoke in the near distance and the ashes falling on campus. It was as if the sky was literally falling. Clearly, this was no ordinary forest fire—if there is such a thing as an ordinary forest fire.

The life sciences industry has rapidly changed over the past twenty years. Drug development, historically, used to rely on vertically-integrated institutions that spanned scientific functions. However, today, products are launched by emerging startups, vast companies and any size in between. To improve velocity and agility, research is increasingly outsourced to academia and external partnerships beyond the traditional confines of a company.

There are 2.5 quintillion bytes of data created each day, resulting in your company’s digital footprint quickly growing at an exponential rate year after year. The scale and velocity of this growth creates a struggle for how organizations manage and secure all of that data. Unstructured data poses a unique challenge. Forty percent¹ of businesses say they need an effective way to manage their unstructured data on a daily basis.

Egnyte For Procore from Egnyte on Vimeo The construction industry is a field that requires a tremendous amount of collaboration. On any given day, a superintendent or foreman will read, revise, and share project-specific drawings, RFIs, submittals, change orders, and photos. With Egnyte and Procore, project managers can now review, revise, share, and approve of any needed documents captured by foremen and superintendents.