KL Engineering Future-Proofs Talent and Wins New Work With Egnyte

KL Engineering, a civil engineering firm specializing in transportation, site civil, and multimodal projects, was founded in 1991 and has grown to over 100 employees across five offices in the Upper Midwest. The firm prides itself on an employee-centric culture. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced widespread remote work, their traditional, "old school file servers" and rudimentary remote access were insufficient to securely and sustainably support their operations and massive Civil 3D files. KL Engineering’s IT team needed to find a strategic cloud solution that could both secure sensitive data and underpin a flexible, competitive future for the firm.
 

Their search for a content platform to meet those needs eventually led them to Egnyte. Egnyte's project-centric architecture and ability to handle complex AEC workloads like Civil 3D while providing the familiar experience of a traditional network drive proved to be the intelligent and strategic fit. The solution not only solved the firm’s immediate security and collaboration issues, it also delivered a powerful competitive edge, directly impacting talent retention and operational efficiency.

Challenge: Shifting from Legacy IT to Modern AEC Agility

For years, KL Engineering relied on a local Windows file server architecture and VPN connections, a setup that underperformed during the pressure of widespread remote work. Employees had to access their office computers from a company laptop or home computer, which was neither secure nor scalable. It also created significant collaboration barriers. The multiple computer setup created confusion when using web-based meeting tools. Sharing large-scale Civil 3D files between the office network and external users was difficult, resulting in extra work to copy data from servers to cloud based solutions to create links. These inefficiencies often forced staff to come into the office to finish critical projects, undermining the firm's culture and making them less competitive in the crucial fight for top engineering talent.
 

Scott Cramer, COO, realized that the quality of their IT platform was directly tied to their ability to compete effectively against much larger national firms. The IT team, led by John Goltz, IT Discipline Leader, and Paul Lenerz, IT Technical Lead, evaluated several options, including a trial with Panzura. They understood they needed an enterprise solution that was powerful enough to handle massive AEC files, but simple enough for their two-person IT team to manage over 100 employees.

The Solution: Egnyte’s Smart, Simple, and Secure Platform

After the Panzura trial, the IT team chose Egnyte. Egnyte provided a seamless, strategic transition to the cloud that immediately solved KL Engineering’s core issues around security, collaboration, and scalability. Egnyte’s project-centric architecture and advanced collaboration features proved to be the ideal fit.

A Seamless Transition for All Users

Egnyte’s ability to map cloud data to a familiar network drive letter was the key to rapid adoption, especially with specialized software like Civil 3D. Employees accessed their files exactly as they always had, regardless of whether they were in an office or working remotely. Goltz was impressed by the user experience and reception. “Egnyte acts and feels like a file server. It was completely seamless for our users, which was a huge win for us—they didn’t skip a beat. The rollout was unbelievable,” says Goltz. 

A Flexible Workspace for the Modern Engineer

The implementation of Egnyte immediately eliminated geographic and time-based work constraints. Engineers in different offices, as well as those working from home, could access and collaborate efficiently on Civil 3D, Bluebeam, and ArcGIS files.

This newfound mobility was a game-changer for the firm's leadership. Cramer highlights, “I can flip my computer open wherever I am and be connected,” showcasing the simple, reliable access Egnyte provides.

The platform also modernized how engineers share information. Lenerz noted the improved file sharing practices. “Our engineers are now sharing links directly from Egnyte, instead of downloading files and sending email attachments like they used to. They’ve adopted it and are doing a great job,” Lenerz shares.

Enhanced IT Control and Business Continuity

Egnyte provided critical improvements in IT overhead and significantly reduced operational risk. The solution’s built-in version recovery functionality simplified file restoration, removing the need for Lenerz and Goltz to pull from lengthy backups.

This simplicity fundamentally changed their business continuity plan. “Our business continuity plan is simple: Take your laptop home. If a tornado takes out our office, we can get someone a new laptop within a day and they can continue working,” says Lenerz.

Goltz adds that the platform gives them confidence in their modern work model. “Egnyte’s security is great. We feel comfortable with remote work because it's secure, and we don't have to worry about files getting outdated or corrupted.” he explains.

Strategic Results: Competitive Advantage and Growth

Egnyte elevated KL Engineering’s IT infrastructure, transforming it into a key strategic asset that enables key business outcomes. 

Competing for Top Talent

The ability to offer flexible work options became the single biggest differentiator for the firm. They can now hire top engineers who are unwilling to relocate and retain valuable employees who need to move for personal reasons.

Cramer highlights the critical competitive difference: “The competitive difference with Egnyte is employee retention. Now people can leave the office whenever they need to and spend time with their families or do things in their community. If they must work again later that day, they don’t have to come back into the office,” Cramer shares. 

Maximizing Staff Utilization

With location no longer a barrier, KL Engineering moved from staffing projects based on office proximity to using the best-qualified engineer for the job, regardless of their physical location. This strategic shift led to a significant improvement in staff utilization, particularly for construction management staff who are typically non-billable during Wisconsin’s harsh winter months.

Egnyte enables these engineers to easily work with Madison-based teams on design engineering during the off-season. “We realized our biggest utilization increase during winter, because staff no longer were required to be on site. They could work on design, regardless of what the roads looked like that day,” Cramer confirms.

Future-Proofed IT for a Growing Firm

KL Engineering is continuing its trajectory of growth, recently opening its fifth office. With Egnyte, the IT team can keep pace with this expansion with minimal effort.

Lenerz describes the simplicity of scaling: “We can have an office up and running in half a day. We can have a remote employee fully enabled in the time it takes to ship them a laptop. Egnyte has really changed the game,” says Lenerz.

Ultimately, for KL Engineering, the decision to go with Egnyte was about upholding their core value. “Our slogan is ‘a better experience,’ and that’s been our North Star: to provide our employees a better experience so they can do the same for our clients,” Cramer explains. “Egnyte has made our employees’ lives better, and that allows us to work better,” he concludes.