Interruptions to existing workflows during platform upgrade
Streamlined handling of internal forms across hundreds of staff
Improved security and compliance
Background
Glen Eira City Council is a metropolitan council located in Melbourne's south-east, serving approximately 160,000 residents and employing around 800 staff. As one of Victoria's larger councils, Glen Eira relies on a range of internal systems and workflows to support day-to-day operations across the organisation.
The Digital Challenge
Glen Eira was running an outdated Drupal 7 internal forms platform that supported a range of staff forms, approval workflows and integrations across Council. Glen Eira City Council needed to upgrade to a new Drupal 11 platform while ensuring existing workflows, Active Directory integration and Content Manager integration continued operating with no interruption. Council also had between 50 to 100 "in-flight" forms already progressing through approval workflows, creating additional complexity during the transition and requiring a solution that could preserve active business processes while improving security, compliance and long-term maintainability.
The Vision
Staff to continue working without interruption while the platform beneath them was replaced. Delivery of a secure, supported Drupal 11 environment preserving every workflow and integration.
The Solution
Working in close collaboration with Glen Eira City Council, Symphony3 delivered a new internal forms portal built on Drupal 11, replacing the existing Drupal 7 environment. Key components delivered include:
- Staff Forms and Workflows - All existing staff forms and multi-step approval workflows rebuilt on the new platform, supporting complex approval patterns tailored to each form type.
- Active Directory and Content Manager Integration - Nightly synchronisation of council's Active Directory hierarchy, combined with a configurable Content Manager module built directly into Drupal.
- Security and Compliance - A modern, supported Drupal 11 environment replacing an end-of-life platform.
- Branded Portal Design - A refreshed portal design built to Glen Eira's brand guidelines.
Transformative Results
- Successful go-live in March 2026, with no significant interruptions while the upgrade was taking place.
- Zero interruption of "in-flight" forms, approval processes continued operating with zero disruptions.
- A refreshed portal design based on Glen Eira's brand guidelines.
- No interruptions to existing integrations.
- Protection of years' worth of embedded business knowledge and data.
The Symphony3 Difference
Symphony3 delivers a cloud based service combined with a human touch – we call it SWAS (Software with a Service). We work closely with our clients on every engagement and ensure you are supported once the solution goes live. It is an approach that is collaborative, and flexible, and ensures you get technical advice tailored to your organisation.