JumpCloud: Zero-Trust simplicity and speed
About JumpCloud
At the intersection of devices, identities, and access, JumpCloud’s cloud directory platform unifies the IT resources in any company’s infrastructure—anywhere work happens. To learn more visit: jumpcloud.com.
Tell us your challenge. We're here to help.
Contact usGoogle Cloud results:
- Short learning curve
- Improved ease of use
- 85%–90% less SysAdmin for some projects
JumpCloud is a zero-trust directory platform that customers use to authenticate, authorize, and manage users, devices, and applications. They do it all through a common directory in the cloud, instead of through legacy, on-premises IT systems.
The UI centrally connects users to the IT resources they need to do their jobs. These include on-premises devices or applications, such as laptops and wireless access points, and cloud-based services such as software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications. Built for companies that leverage the cloud, use a diverse set of operating systems such as Mac OS and Linux, and/or communicate via Google Workspace, JumpCloud relies heavily on Compute Engine to keep everything working efficiently.
Challenge
Because clients rely on it as a central source for key functions, an infrastructure provider like JumpCloud must always be available and working—via any cloud service clients might use. “We’re looking to ensure that we have massive redundancy, and that we’re able to spin up virtual machines quickly and ephemerally if necessary,” explains Greg Keller, JumpCloud’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO). “We have an instance that lives for a little while, serves some traffic, and then gets pulled down again.” As a worldwide service, JumpCloud also needs to work across different providers.
Solution
Google Cloud wasn’t a large part of their directory solution early on, and the startup initially built DaaS almost entirely around another cloud-based service. JumpCloud then began moving toward Compute Engine, thanks to Google Cloud for Startups. This program provides incentives and support for eligible new companies. “Google has a great infrastructure and great technology, but we never really took the time to evaluate their offering just because we had a solution,” says Rajat Bhargava, chief executive officer. “This program was a great incentive for us to take a look.”
The ease of using Compute Engine versus other services is “almost night and day,” Greg Keller says. “Compute Engine feels very integrated, very well thought out.” It’s easy to spin up the infrastructure and networks and make them intercommunicate, he adds. The firewall is intuitive and Google has a well-planned command-line interface. “You’re able to run these things and spin them up directly from your own machine,” the CTO says. “I’m very happy with everything that I’m discovering.”
Results
JumpCloud’s continuing transition to Compute Engine has been smooth and is accelerating. Their CTO had expected a steep learning curve and needing to relearn everything he knew about infrastructure as a service. “And I was very hesitant to download the command-line tool, because I didn’t want to learn another language to master how to make machines work,” he says. “What really surprised me was how simple it was.”
Google Cloud saves JumpCloud significant time compared with other services. Bringing up a project now takes only two or three minutes. “I’m able to give authorization and access control to just the people I choose,” Greg Keller says. “I also have access across projects and even across billing groups. Google has created really astounding ease-of-use around the product.”
The CTO estimates that Compute Engine also reduces the time needed to set up a network of edge servers around the globe by 85 to 90 percent, saving the startup weeks of effort. And JumpCloud doesn’t need as many administrators working on infrastructure. “With Compute Engine, any of the developers, junior or senior, can go ahead and spin up whatever they need,” he says.
Google Cloud has steadily grown in importance to JumpCloud since the startup first tried it. “We have a multi-provider strategy,” Bhargava says, “but our center of gravity will be Google.”
“We have a multi-provider strategy, but our center of gravity will be Google Cloud.”
—Rajat Bhargava, CEO JumpCloudTell us your challenge. We're here to help.
Contact us
About JumpCloud
At the intersection of devices, identities, and access, JumpCloud’s cloud directory platform unifies the IT resources in any company’s infrastructure—anywhere work happens. To learn more visit: jumpcloud.com.