A new era of connection: Service Cloud debuts in Australia and New Zealand

Local governments in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) are known worldwide for embracing innovation in citizen-to-government interactions. With a deep-rooted culture of engaging communities in their governance, the region stands ready to lead the next wave of transformation for digital advancements in service delivery.

With the launch of Service Cloud in the ANZ market, Granicus is committed to advancing local council’s efforts to provide efficient, reliable, accessible online services. Many governments in the region are already familiar with Granicus Forms & Workflow (OpenForms), and Granicus Websites & CMS (OpenCities), and Granicus Sentiment and Feedback (EHQ) . Service Cloud carries that forward with unified modern websites, digital forms, automated workflows, resident communications, community engagement, and data insights. As a result, governments can deliver seamless digital experiences that work for every resident, increasing their satisfaction and trust.

A platform built for modern service delivery

Local councils across ANZ serve diverse populations and are responsible for a broad range of essential services—urban planning, waste management, infrastructure maintenance, community programs, among others—tailored to residents from various cultural, ethnic, and social backgrounds.

Despite these responsibilities, councils often face challenges in capacity and resourcing. Limited funding, fragmented systems, and workforce constraints can hinder innovation, resulting in inconsistent service access and quality across regions. In some cases, staff burnout and turnover further disrupt continuity and impact resident outcomes.

By providing service experiences that are resident-friendly and connected technology that helps frontline staff respond more quickly, Service Cloud is designed to help local governments in Australia and New Zealand expand service access and increase participation. Service Cloud brings together expert support, user-friendly web tools, intuitive digital services, and cross-channel communication and engagement capabilities—all in one solution designed to put residents at the heart of every local government interaction. With automation for complex workflows and simplified, easy-to-follow processes, government staff can better manage back-office operations. This combination empowers local governments to deliver seamless, responsive service to every resident on any device, at any time, while leveraging data insights to drive continuous improvement that lower service costs.

Service Cloud in action: Find, understand, get it done, engage and grow

Service Cloud focuses on making government services work better for residents and staff by creating end-to-end service experiences that are seamless, relevant, and efficient.

Find: Make information and services easy to access

Residents expect fluid, easy to access, easy to utilise government interactions – and to be able to use any device they want. Hard to find information and services – and/or complex processes - can erode trust in government and once a resident doesn’t feel comfortable, they are more likely to stop trying to interact.

Granicus research shows that only 36% of customers currently find government processes and interactions intuitive. Service Cloud is designed to increase resident satisfaction by improving access to government information and services, reducing friction through human-centric designed experiences. With Service Cloud, residents can more quickly find the information they are looking for from their government and enjoy effortless access without dealing with the internal government or business structures.

Understand: Break down barriers

Now that residents can find information, it’s important they can navigate to and request the services they need. Service Cloud enables equitable access and ease of use for all residents to overcome language, cultural, and accessibility barriers with digital-first services.

Councils can expand and simplify service access for increased fairness through websites that do more. This can include improving usability with predictive search and multilingual support, GIS integration (for a sense of place), and smart digital forms so residents can submit, track, and complete requests online (e.g payments or service requests) without paper or in-person queues.

Get it Done: Accessible self-service experiences

Going digital means having clear goals of increasing self-service, reducing walk in traffic and call volumes, enhancing service delivery overall and boosting inclusivity. Put simply, governments want to enable residents to find a service, request a service, receive a service, and stay informed all along the way. Service Cloud is designed to help residents get things done on their first visit, and get it done fast.

Service Cloud makes it easy to navigate government using wayfinding tools and decision trees built with residents in mind, build inter-department workflows to streamline processing, and easily integrate systems and share data across government to improve service times.

Build a stronger community

Not all services experiences are one and done. Effective governance is a continuous process of learning, improving, and encouraging participation. Service Cloud helps local councils curate content based on community needs, promote relevant services, events, and programs based on activity, and centrally track service requests and analyse trends using dashboards to optimise government for residents and staff.

Service Cloud also enables local councils to measure key success indicators, such as community satisfaction and quality of life, through standardised surveys that are tracked and benchmarked against public service peers. At the same time, councils can strengthen resident relationships by delivering timely and targeted communications via email and alerts, ensuring communities stay informed and engaged.

With included advanced visualisation tools and expert-led reviews, government teams can make informed decisions, improve service delivery, and mature their digital presence with each new interaction.

What’s included in Service Cloud

Service Cloud brings together the essential built-for-government solutions that enable connected, efficient, and scalable service delivery.

• User-friendly, Mobile Responsive Websites: Meet residents where they are, simplify government information, and help users find what they’re looking for the first time.
• Smart Digital Forms: Enable resident self-service with simple online forms and workflows that don’t require technical skills or time-consuming customisations, giving residents the ability to pay for a ticket, reserve a venue, report a problem, register a pet, and more.
• Multichannel Engagement and Sentiment Collection: Reach constituents on whatever channel suits them best – whether that’s email, social, or web – with a 98% deliverability rate. Use surveys and feedback loops to identify trends and enhance service delivery.
• Powered by Data Insights and AI: Gain a holistic view of the citizen experience with advanced tools that leverage data and ML tools to give a detailed picture of communities and their needs.
• A Full-Service Partnership: Technology alone is not enough to achieve goals and outcomes. Every customer receives strategic support, including performance reviews, service catalogues, and expert consultations. These services ensure technology aligns with broader community goals.

Why it matters for ANZ governments

Service Cloud’s debut brings a resident-first approach to local government service delivery. In a region where councils face increasing pressure to deliver inclusive, efficient, and transparent services, Service Cloud offers a transformative solution. It empowers councils to help residents complete tasks quickly and intuitively through such technologies as predictive search and smart forms, reducing reliance on phone calls and in-person visits. Behind the scenes, automated workflows streamline operations, freeing up staff time and eliminating manual processes.

Ready to take the next step?

Granicus Service Cloud is now available for councils across Australia and New Zealand. Whether restructuring a website to boost accessibility, looking to streamline access to crucial services, or increase public satisfaction, this platform offers a unified solution backed by deep public sector expertise to deliver seamless experiences for the public.

With Service Cloud, local ANZ governments can deliver smarter, more connected experiences that meet the needs of every resident.

Connect with an expert to get started.