Meet the City of Grapevine
The City of Grapevine serves 51,000 residents in northeast Tarrant County between Dallas and Fort Worth, plus millions of annual visitors drawn to historic Main Street, the largest wine festival in the Southwest, and Lake Grapevine's 8,000 acres. Two-thirds of DFW International Airport sits within city limits. This "Christmas Capital of Texas" balances preserved 1880s architecture with major convention centers, regional retail, and the daily coordination of permits, licenses, public safety, events, and recreation programs across multiple departments.
Daily Detour: Infrastructure at a Breaking Point
Since adopting Laserfiche in 2004 for the City Secretary’s office, Grapevine expanded to 300+ users across human resources, finance, fire training, police, parks and recreation, public works, and development services. Twenty years of growth created valuable digital infrastructure. It also created a dependency worth protecting.
Infrastructure doesn’t wait for convenient timing. Grapevine’s on-premises servers needed a major upgrade. The capital expenditure would be substantial. Security concerns were mounting. Redundancy gaps created risk.
The decision point arrived with clarity: invest in new infrastructure or pivot to cloud services?
This wasn’t a simple technology refresh. Multiple factors complicated the equation:
Process complexity worried everyone. The City ran 320 Laserfiche forms and workflows. Critical operations in fiscal services, the police department, and the fire department depended on uninterrupted access. Availability wasn’t optional.
Integration depth added stakes. Laserfiche is connected with HR systems and financial platforms. These integrations kept operations running smoothly. Any migration needed to preserve these connections.
Compliance requirements narrowed the options. Law enforcement records demand CJIS compliance. Not every cloud option meets that standard. The search for a provider intensified.
Security needs kept growing. The existing identity provider needed an upgrade. Cloud-friendly authentication would strengthen security across the board.
Shawna Barnes initially hesitated. Her biggest concern? Those 320 forms and workflows.
“We are heavy users of Laserfiche Forms and Workflow. We have critical processes within fiscal services, the police department, and fire department that made availability a huge concern for us,” she explained.
The City needed more than just cloud storage. They needed a Laserfiche solution provider who understood government operations, respected their process investments, and could deliver expert migration support.
About our Client
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POPULATION:
est. 52,000 residents
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The Solution: Managed Cloud With the Expertise That Matters
Grapevine evaluated its options carefully. Laserfiche Cloud offered one path. Managed Cloud through a dedicated Laserfiche partner offered another. The City weighed features, compliance, and support capabilities. Several factors tipped the scales toward Managed Cloud:
Government-grade security met their requirements. Next-generation firewall protection with application-layer security. CJIS compliance for law enforcement records. Regular compliance updates to meet changing regulations. These weren’t optional features for Grapevine.
Migration expertise eliminated the guesswork. Moving 320 forms and workflows between platforms requires specialized knowledge. A Laserfiche solution provider with government experience understood the stakes. Hands-on Laserfiche training and ongoing support would smooth the transition.
Operational benefits are aligned with long-term goals. Managed Cloud reduces the learning curve for secure, scalable architecture. Unplanned downtime drops. Help desk and system administrators regain time. Citizens and employees get reliable 24/7 access from anywhere.
Cost management stayed predictable. Capital expenditure shifted to operational expense. Budget planning became more straightforward. Infrastructure costs stayed controlled.
MCCi consultants addressed Shawna’s migration concerns directly. Migrating processes into Managed Cloud would be simpler than moving to Laserfiche Cloud. The team could provide personalized support throughout the project. Functionality wouldn’t be lost. Downtime would be minimal.
One final factor sealed the decision.
“MCCi Managed Cloud is CJIS-ready for our law enforcement records, and that sealed the decision for us,” Shawna explained.
The City committed to a comprehensive approach. They would migrate to Managed Cloud, upgrade to a newer Laserfiche version, and implement a cloud-friendly identity provider in a single project. The timeline? Four months from start to finish.
The Result: Complete Migration With Zero Compromises
Migration projects create anxiety for good reasons. Critical systems go offline. Processes break. Users struggle with new interfaces. Data gets lost. These fears weren’t hypothetical for Grapevine.
The reality proved different.
The project team took a deliberate, systematic approach. Testing happened at each stage. Communication kept stakeholders informed. Support remained available throughout. The four-month timeline held firm.
What did Grapevine gain?
All 320 forms and workflows migrated successfully. No processes were lost. No functionality disappeared. Critical operations in fiscal services, police, and fire departments continued without interruption.
System integrations remained intact. HR and finance connections kept working. Staff experienced no disruption to their established workflows.
Security strengthened across the board. CJIS-compliant infrastructure protects law enforcement records. The new identity provider adds cloud-ready authentication. Application-layer firewall security defends against evolving threats.
Infrastructure concerns vanished. No more capital expenditure cycles for server refreshes. No late-night panic about hardware failures. No bandwidth limits constrain growth. Managed Cloud handles these concerns behind the scenes.
Access has been expanded for users. Employees work from anywhere with internet access. Remote access doesn’t require VPN complexity. Citizens receive better service regardless of staff location.
Support became more responsive. Dedicated Laserfiche customer support provides expert assistance. Laserfiche training resources help staff maximize platform capabilities. Questions get answered by people who understand government operations.
The City of Grapevine now operates with infrastructure that scales with its growth. New Laserfiche features arrive without the hassles of migration. Compliance updates happen automatically. The IT team focuses on serving departments instead of maintaining servers.
“We made the right choice for our organization,” Shawna noted after completion.
Other government organizations face similar infrastructure decisions. Aging servers demand expensive upgrades. Security requirements keep rising. Budget constraints create pressure. The question isn’t whether change is coming. The question is which path forward makes the most sense.
Grapevine’s experience offers a roadmap: evaluate thoroughly, choose the right Laserfiche partner, and trust expert guidance through complex transitions. When you work with an experienced Laserfiche solution provider who understands government compliance and offers dedicated Laserfiche support, even challenging migrations become manageable.