Case Study: Denver FQHC Modernizes Disaster Recovery with RainTech’s Cloud-Based DRaaS Solution

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After identifying critical gaps in their appliance-based backup system, a Denver-based FQHC partnered with RainTech to deploy a fully managed cloud DRaaS platform with tested, rapid recovery and HIPAA-aligned compliance.

Business Snapshot

Located in the heart of the Denver Metro area, this Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) employs more than 800 staff across 23 housing and clinic locations, serving over 17,000 patients annually through integrated medical, behavioral, and supportive care services. With a growing patient population and complex operational footprint, the organization relies on technology to power everything from clinical workflows to care coordination.

As demand for services increased, so did the need for a resilient, scalable disaster recovery solution that could protect patient data, ensure compliance, and minimize downtime across all sites.

The Challenge

At the time of engagement, the FQHC was relying on a Datto appliance-based backup and disaster recovery solution. While commonly used in smaller environments, this setup revealed two serious limitations that put the organization at risk:

  • Physical vulnerability: The backup appliance was housed in the same location as the production servers. In the event of a fire, flood, or other physical disaster, both systems would be compromised —leaving the organization unable to restore operations.
  • Limited failover capacity: The appliance could virtualize only a small number of servers, far fewer than what the FQHC had in production. This meant that even a partial recovery would be slow and incomplete, risking disruptions in clinical workflows and administrative functions.

Additionally, the solution did not support a streamlined method for annual disaster recovery testing, making HIPAA compliance more difficult to manage. Leadership and IT stakeholders recognized the need for a more resilient and scalable approach — and they needed a partner who understood both healthcare operations and compliance.

The Solution

RainTech deployed a fully managed Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) solution tailored to the needs of modern community health centers. This cloud-native approach removed the need for on-premise appliances entirely while delivering full failover capabilities with rapid recovery time objectives. Key elements of the solution included:

  • Cloud-based infrastructure: All production servers are now backed up directly to RainTech’s dedicated, secure cloud environment.
  • Fast, full failover: In a disaster scenario, the entire environment can be virtualized and restored in RainTech’s cloud in under two hours.
  • On-demand file restoration: The client’s IT team retains the ability to quickly restore individual files or folders without relying on external hardware.
  • Network and access replication: RainTech replicated the client’s VLAN and VPN configurations to ensure seamless access to critical systems during a failover.

RainTech also included a full-scale failover test within the first 30 days, validating the environment and giving both the IT team and leadership real-world proof that the system would work as expected. The service includes an annual failover test to support HIPAA compliance without extra complexity or cost.

The Outcome

Following implementation, the FQHC gained a modern, highly resilient disaster recovery solution that met their uptime, security, and compliance needs without overburdening internal resources.

With RainTech’s DRaaS platform, the organization now benefits from:

  • Elimination of on-site disaster recovery risk: No more single points of failure due to hardware being physically co-located with production systems.
  • Dramatically faster recovery: In the event of
a major outage, operations can resume in minutes or hours, not days.
  • HIPAA-aligned compliance: Annual testing is included, documented, and repeatable, making audits simpler.
  • Ongoing partnership: With RainTech managing the service, the FQHC’s IT team can focus on day-to-day operations and strategic initiatives, not backup monitoring..

For leadership, the shift from reactive to proactive disaster recovery has delivered real peace of mind. For clinicians and staff, it means care delivery continues uninterrupted — even when the unexpected occurs.

“Prior to partnering with RainTech, our previous Datto solution left us feeling uncertain about our disaster recovery readiness. We recognized that it would likely fall short in the event of a true emergency. RainTech provided a seamless transition to a new solution that has exceeded our expectations. The recovery process is now efficient, straightforward, and fully tested. With no reliance on physical hardware and no compliance concerns, we have complete confidence in a solution that ensures business continuity.”

Vice President of Technical Services