BusinessWeek Logo
Chicago Innovation October 16, 2008, 3:00PM EST

Cleversafe's Long-Term Data Storage

Save your data even if your recording system becomes obsolete

By Judith Crown

CEO Gladwin keeps data secure

In mid-2004, entrepreneur S. Christopher Gladwin was taking time off after the sale of his digital music-subscription service. His between-gigs project: organizing and storing his personal documents and photos. With equipment becoming obsolete every three to five years, he wondered, "How do you do that over the long haul?" He studied cryptography, conducted market research, and developed technology to store data on the Internet. It took more than three years, but Gladwin in April launched Cleversafe, which stores information as data slices on a network of servers in different locations. The files are securely dispersed yet easily retrieved and reassembled. Gladwin, 44, figured his first customers would be smaller businesses. Instead, they've turned out to be large users, for whom making copies is not only cumbersome but also exponentially expensive. The West Loop startup is backed by several investor groups as well as former Motorola (MOT) Chief Executive Christopher Galvin, whom the Cleversafe president and CEO met while developing his technology from an office at the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Return to Chicago Innovation Awards Table of Contents

Crown is a senior correspondent for BusinessWeek and BW Chicago.

Reader Discussion

 

BW Mall - Sponsored Links