Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU)
Case Study
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Company: Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU)
Industry: Multi-Service Utility
Location: Gainesville, FL
Solution: IT Asset Management and Application Dependency Mapping
Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU), a multi-service utility owned by the city of Gainesville, Florida, stands as the 5th largest municipal electric utility in the state, serving over 93,000 retail and wholesale customers with a comprehensive range of utilities, including electric, natural gas, water, wastewater, and telecommunication services.
In the early months of 2023, GRU’s lead IT Manager, Jean, recognized a significant opportunity to enhance their IT asset tracking maturity. Given the dynamic nature of Jean’s team— responsible for delivering front-line services with frequent changes in IT assets—there was a clear need to expedite issue response and enhance tracking through improved discovery and inventorying processes. In line with cybersecurity best practices, the team sought a solution to maximize asset utilization, requiring a comprehensive approach to track, inventory, and understand resources and their dependencies on delivered services. Furthermore, integration with their ITSM platform was vital for achieving improved service delivery and reducing response and resolution times.
Jean discovered Device42 through both a recommendation from a fellow attendee at the Helpdesk Institute Conference and a mention in a Gartner report highlighting Device42’s unique capability to leverage multiple protocols and advanced discovery for identifying all assets in an environment and dynamically building dependency maps.
Following a successful proof of concept (POC) trial with Device42, GRU swiftly acknowledged Device42 as the solution to their critical visibility challenges. During the POC, the IT team gained insights into previously unknown network resources, reinforcing their belief that Device42 could significantly enhance their cybersecurity posture and IT Service Management practices.
“The Automation of the Service Dependency Mapping in Device42 is a feature that is solid to me. It is never out of date and follows the connectivity.”
—Jean, GRU IT Manager
Today, Device42 serves as GRU’s primary Configuration Management Database (CMDB) and dependency mapping engine, providing full visibility and comprehensive dependency mapping of resources, ultimately contributing to improved service delivery.
Jean commended Device42’s team for their commitment to ensuring her success with the product. Notably, when seeking a stronger integration with their ITSM platform, she appreciated the direct involvement of Device42’s founder, Raj Jalan, who made himself available to discuss her needs and ensure that her requests received the necessary attention.
Looking ahead, as GRU aims to deliver even more advanced services, including venturing into the cloud, they are confident that Device42 will serve as the foundational tool to help them achieve their IT service delivery goals.