Hydro, Inc. Boosts Collaboration With Staff, Clients, and Regulators

In pump manufacturing, one small error can spell big trouble on the plant floor. As the world’s largest independent pump rebuilder, Hydro, Inc.’s engineering teams are the go-to experts for clients across the energy industry, including the nuclear sector. With 16 offices around the world, the firm handles massive amounts of documentation and depends on fast file sharing to facilitate a multi-step quality assurance process. But in 2021, the firm realized its local file servers couldn’t keep up with an ever-expanding amount of data.

After considering other file management platforms like OneDrive and Dropbox, Hydro’s leadership team chose Egnyte for its streamlined quality assurance process, large-volume snapshot recovery, and Microsoft co-editing features. Now, Hydro is free to grow its footprint without constant workarounds and time-consuming workflows.

Challenge: Vast Amounts of Data Clog Local Servers

Before implementing Egnyte, Hydro’s engineers stored their SolidWorks design documents and other data on local servers. But as the company expanded, managing its massive data ecosystem became a hassle, says Chief Technology Officer Shafi Yusuff: “Our total data consumption is somewhere around 27 terabytes. Storing all of that and backing it up was a nightmare.”

Between controlling different design versions and making sure documents have secure permissions, trying to navigate everything locally or through a VPN was a headache for the company. And with a growing emphasis on serving nuclear clients that require strict regulatory adherence, this cumbersome data management system made an already lengthy quality assurance process even longer. The team knew they were in a precarious position, and decided it was time to explore new options.

Solution: Enhance File Management With Egnyte’s Document Workflows

As part of the evaluation process, Hydro considered Microsoft OneDrive and Dropbox. Egnyte was chosen primarily for its specialization in secure file management. Shafi also felt more confident in Egnyte's security against external threats and was impressed by Egnyte's focused development roadmap. "OneDrive is not the core business of Microsoft; it's one of the thousands. I didn't see that there was a roadmap where that product could become stronger as we move forward," said Shafi. This perspective contrasted with his view on Egnyte: "This is Egnyte's core, your bread and butter. You're going to invest to make it better for everybody ... more integration with apps, more AI solutions, and a focus on helping the customer. That's the key differentiator between others and Egnyte."

Initially, Hydro brought on Egnyte simply to replace its scattered file servers. “We pumped all our data into Egnyte with the intention of using it as a cloud file server with more control in terms of permissions and sharing,” explains Shafi. “But over time, it became a solution that helped us do a lot more than just store files.”

Egnyte’s AI-powered document workflows have also made it easier to collaborate with Hydro’s external partners. For nuclear facilities in particular, Shafi says it’s common to share upwards of 3,000 pages of documents at a time. Before the team started using Egnyte, finding and correcting errors in those documents was like searching for a needle in a haystack. Now, it’s almost instantaneous. And to make things easier for customers, Hydro is using Egnyte Copilot to build this repository of engineering data into a new revenue engine: a curated knowledge base. “Clients can get information in an instant and see exactly what steps have been done,” explains Shafi. “This way, they can use that information to do some of their own baseline repairs instead of sending it back to us, which would lengthen the overall process.”

On the quality assurance side, these new workflows have also sped up the approval process. Hydro’s document reviews were once a struggle, involving upwards of five team members at a time. “We’d release a document to one person, then they’d review it and comment on what needed to be changed, then it would bounce back or go to someone else,” says Shafi. “The process could repeat multiple times before it was finished.” Instead of playing this long game of back and forth, Egnyte’s Microsoft Office co-editing feature makes it possible for teams to collaborate simultaneously, directly from desktop or mobile. “If we assign a document to a group, all the group members can see it, comment on it, propose changes, and approve it.” The last piece of the puzzle for Hydro, Shafi says, is adopting Egnyte Sign, which will replace a separate tool the team had been using for e-signatures and speed up the approval process even further. And once each document has made its way to the manufacturing floor, engineers are able to stay in the loop as well, says Shafi.

Along with consolidating over 27 terabytes of data into Egnyte’s secure cloud server, Shafi says Egnyte’s Snapshot-Based Ransomware Recovery tool has been a game-changer. “On the IT side, Egnyte provides the best solution in that area. We’re able to retain files for 120 days or more, and that’s been wonderful.” 

Benefits: Safer, Faster Collaboration Among Critical Stakeholders

For Hydro, Inc.’s IT team, bringing on Egnyte was a critical turning point. Now that they don’t have to worry about constantly backing up local servers, Shafi estimates the IT team saves upwards of 16 hours each week. “We don’t have a huge IT staff, so any amount of time saved is valuable. Those old processes used to clog up the day, but now our team has the breathing room they need.” And as Network Administrator Suneel Raju Kottarathill adds, having one source of truth makes document permissions and access a breeze. “Before Egnyte, we had a Windows-based file server, so everyone had access to everything,” he explains. “With Egnyte, I can set permissions at the micro level. And if someone deletes a file or downloads a folder they weren’t supposed to, we get an alert and can restore everything easily. Our data is much safer now.”  

Ultimately, this updated data ecosystem enables Hydro to seamlessly deliver its final certifications to clients, no matter how large those files are. “We document everything that was done to a tee, because there are a lot of calculations, measurements, and pictures of each component,” says Shafi. “We have to be able to prove what changed, how it changed, and what kind of efficiency our client will gain.”

Shafi says it’s not just internal and client collaboration that has become much simpler with Egnyte. When Hydro needs to collaborate with regulators auditing its nuclear clients, teams can quickly put together files and update permissions. “We used to provide auditors with files on a thumb drive, but now we can dump everything in one folder on Egnyte and provide them with a standard user license. It’s fully paperless, which is very good for us.”

Looking ahead, Shafi says Hydro’s teams are excited to continue exploring what Egnyte can do, especially when it comes to monetizing their vast amount of data. “Egnyte helps us do a lot more than just store files,” he says. “It’s a true back-end solution for us.” As the company experiments with different Egnyte features, Suneel says Egnyte’s user support team and resources have been invaluable companions. “To put it simply, Egnyte just makes our lives easier.”