About the company
Based in Germany, Stackable is an open-source data platform that allows clients to store, visualize, and analyze data using a suite of open-source tools. As a 100% remote company, serving security-conscious clients, Stackable recently began working towards ISO 27001 certification to further strengthen their commitment to security.
However, this journey toward certification was confronted with a significant hurdle: a lack of a centralized user management system.
The Problem
“We had separate logins across various platforms and nothing was centralized,” explains Lars Francke, CTO and co-founder of Stackable. This made it difficult to manage user access, a critical component of the ISO 27001 framework.
Stackable’s search for a solution quickly led them to consider major players, but they often found them to be overly “complicated and expensive”. To add to this frustration was an array of complicated software designs, complex user interfaces and never ending sales processes that accompanied other vendors.
Who knew that seeking a tool that was functional and straightforward would be so complicated.
The Solution
On the recommendation of a trusted partner company, Stackable tried JumpCloud. The difference was immediate.
Unlike other platforms, JumpCloud’s user interface was refreshingly direct and efficient. The UI is perfect. It’s functional and not funky! I love it. It’s fast. It’s snappy.
– Lars Francke, CTO and Co-founder, Stackable
This focus on core functionality over flashy design was a decisive advantage. Where other tools felt sluggish and convoluted, JumpCloud provided a seamless experience. This was complemented with a “reasonable” pricing and an “honest” sales experience, a stark contrast to what they experienced elsewhere.
The Results
By implementing JumpCloud’s single sign-on portal, Stackable instantly centralized its IT environment. The scattered list of services once managed in a wiki was replaced by a single, always up-to-date dashboard.
This has had a direct impact on their ISO 27001 preparations. Key compliance tasks that were once manual and error-prone are now streamlined:
Simplified Onboarding & Offboarding
Granting and revoking access is now a simple, reliable process, ensuring employees have access only to what they need.
Clear Access Overview
With JumpCloud, Stackable has a real-time view of who has access to which systems, satisfying a core compliance requirement.
Enhanced Ease of Use
Employees no longer have to juggle multiple logins, and administrators have a single point of control.
For Stackable, choosing JumpCloud was a strategic decision to prioritize function over flash. By moving beyond the perceived complexity of alternative solutions, they found a partner that not only met their immediate compliance needs but also aligned with their philosophy of pragmatic, effective technology.
My advice to other SMB’s is don’t just default to the biggest names in the market. Find a tool that solves your core problem efficiently. For us, that was JumpCloud. It gave us the enterprise-level control we needed for compliance, without the enterprise-level complexity.
– Lars Francke, CTO and Co-founder, Stackable