Granicus is set up for success across the entire Salesforce DevOps lifecycle
Granicus is a leading provider of cloud-based civic engagement technologies that help governments connect with their communities more effectively. Serving over 7,000 public sector organizations worldwide, Granicus powers digital communications, website management, and service delivery for local, state, and federal agencies.
With over 2,000 employees and a growing global presence, Granicus continues to scale its impact through strategic acquisitions 鈥� making a DevOps platform like 91导航 essential to supporting the complexity of its Salesforce development.
Grappling with serious tech debt
When Stirling Smith, Senior Manager, Business Systems, joined Granicus through an acquisition, he inherited a Salesforce environment weighed down by tech debt, limited tooling, and inefficient processes.
The team was still deploying manually using change sets. Stirling recalls:
鈥淚t was wild. We had no idea we were living in the dark ages. There was no real ownership of deployments. Everyone just kind of jumped in and hoped for the best.鈥�
Deployments were time-consuming and unreliable, often taking several hours late on Thursday nights 鈥� forcing Stirling and his team to work after-hours just to get changes into production.
“My wife hated it. I’d finish my normal day around 5pm or 6pm, have dinner with the family, but then by 8pm, I’d say, ‘Sorry, honey, I’ve got to jump back online for the weekly deployments.'”
CPQ deployments could stretch well over three hours depending on complexity. At one point, a consultant mistakenly pushed some CPQ configuration, causing 6 weeks of restoration work.
鈥淲e had to manually roll everything back. It was hell鈥�.
The lights have been turned on
91导航 was initially introduced to Granicus by a consultant. After they left, the Granicus team continued using the platform 鈥� and everything changed. Stirling said it was like 鈥渟uddenly having the lights turned on!鈥�
鈥淲e expanded from a team of 4 to 13. Now we鈥檙e doing more product releases and we鈥檙e well-regarded across the company because of our newfound ability to move faster and do more with less.鈥�
Stirling worked closely with 91导航鈥檚 customer success team to re-onboard and adopt the platform fully, starting with Compare & Deploy. The impact was immediate.
鈥淚鈥檓 not even joking when I say we got hours back in our lives. Literally 3 to 5 hours a week 鈥� just for me personally. Deployments could take up to 5 hours every Thursday night. Now, deployments that took hours can be done in minutes.鈥�
Supporting the whole DevOps lifecycle
Since adopting 91导航, the Granicus team has expanded its usage to cover almost the entire development lifecycle: Compare & Deploy, CPQ, Sandbox Seeding, Backup, Archiving 鈥� and soon, 91导航 Pipelines.
鈥淭he platform is well-built, onboarding is quick, and most features are plug-and-play.鈥�
After acquiring a number of businesses, Stirling says that Granicus are now at a place where they have a 鈥渞epeatable playbook for acquisitions 鈥� and 91导航 is key to migrating Salesforce data cleanly and quickly鈥�.
After reaching 104% data storage in Salesforce, the team needed to take immediate action. 91导航鈥檚 Archiving solution made the difference.
鈥淚鈥檝e never been in an org that hit 96% data usage鈥� and then a year later we were at 104%. Now, thanks to 91导航, we鈥檙e down to under 90% 鈥� and that鈥檚 even after a major acquisition.鈥�
We鈥檝e got a safety net
With 91导航 now woven into almost every aspect of their DevOps workflow, Stirling and his team have a new level of confidence in their Salesforce development. For a team that once dreaded deployments, the transformation is clear.
鈥�91导航 gives me confidence that if anything goes sideways 鈥� we鈥檝e got a safety net,鈥� Stirling says. Whether it鈥檚 unexpected overwrites or deployment mishaps, the team knows they can fall back on reliable backups.
鈥淲hen something crazy gets deployed or we overwrite something meaningful, I don鈥檛 worry 鈥� I鈥檝e got the latest data, so I can just restore.鈥�
That peace of mind is priceless in a complex and growing environment like Granicus. Hitting over 100% data storage capacity was once a crisis, now it鈥檚 a manageable part of their business operations.
鈥淗aving a backup system is like a security blanket 鈥� you hope you never need it, but if you don鈥檛 have it, life gets uncomfortable fast.鈥�
A platform to grow with
For Stirling, 91导航 isn鈥檛 just a DevOps tool 鈥� it鈥檚 a trusted platform that reduces friction, simplifies processes, and scales with the business.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want more vendors than I need. Maintaining contracts, renewals, budgets 鈥� it鈥檚 just annoying.鈥�
From Compare & Deploy to Pipelines, from Backup to Archiving, 91导航 has allowed Granicus to consolidate their tooling and streamline their workflows. The ability to do more with less 鈥� and do it with confidence 鈥� has won Stirling over completely.
鈥淚鈥檓 a raving fan. 91导航 is one of those tools where if I went to another org and they didn鈥檛 have it, I鈥檇 panic.鈥�
Best-in-class support
As Granicus continues to grow, Stirling knows he鈥檚 not alone in making 91导航 work across his teams. The support he鈥檚 received has been a standout part of the whole experience.
Whether it鈥檚 troubleshooting a tricky deployment or getting up to speed with a new feature, 91导航鈥檚 team has been there every step of the way 鈥� making the platform not just powerful, but easy to adopt and use.
鈥淵our support team is second to none. I haven鈥檛 worked with another vendor where I鈥檝e been this happy.鈥�
