Case Study: Washington University in St. Louis achieves dependable, centralized cross-platform data protection with Code42 (CrashPlan)

CrashPlan provides true cross-platform data protection, enables quick and easy data restores

Washington University in St. Louis’ Department of Genetics struggled with decentralized facilities and a mobile, mixed-platform user base (Mac, Windows, Linux) handling highly confidential, HIPAA‑governed data. Without centrally managed, automatic endpoint backups IT repeatedly reminded users to back up to a local server, suffered data loss incidents and costly recoveries (about $2,000 per affected user), and faced compliance and productivity risks.

The department deployed CrashPlan in a hybrid cloud model with a central admin console, providing automatic, always‑encrypted, cross‑platform backups to both a local server and CrashPlan’s cloud. CrashPlan enabled fast, complete restores (including a full recovery after a stolen laptop), reduced restore costs by an estimated $10,000, now protects about 200 endpoints, and delivered roughly $50,000 in savings from reduced management and tech refreshes while meeting HIPAA and other governance requirements.

Washington University in St. Louis

Kyle Kniepkamp

Systems Manager