Granola Reference Architecture
Overview
Enterprise reference architecture for deploying Granola as the meeting intelligence platform across an organization. Covers the core capture pipeline, Zapier middleware routing, multi-workspace topology, security layers, and integration patterns for Slack, Notion, CRM, and task management.
Prerequisites
- Granola Enterprise plan ($35+/user/month)
- Zapier Professional or higher (for multi-step Zaps and Paths)
- Destination systems provisioned (Slack, Notion, CRM, Linear/Jira)
- IT architecture review completed
Instructions
Step 1 — Core Pipeline Architecture
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ MEETING PLATFORMS │
│ Zoom | Google Meet | Microsoft Teams | Slack Huddle│
└──────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────┘
│ System audio capture (no bot)
▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ GRANOLA PLATFORM │
│ │
│ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ │
│ │ Audio │→ │ Transcription │→ │ AI Enhancement │ │
│ │ Capture │ │ (GPT-4o/ │ │ (Notes + Trans- │ │
│ │ (local) │ │ Claude) │ │ cript merge) │ │
│ └──────────┘ └──────────────┘ └────────┬────────┘ │
│ │ │
│ ┌────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐ │ │
│ │ People & │ │ Folders │ │ │
│ │ Companies │ │ (routing rules) │←─┘ │
│ │ (built-in CRM) │ └────────┬─────────┘ │
│ └────────────────┘ │ │
└───────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────┘
│
┌───────────────────┼───────────────────┐
│ ZAPIER MIDDLEWARE │
│ │
│ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌──────┐ │
│ │ Filter │→ │ Route │→ │ Act │ │
│ │ (type/ │ │ (paths │ │ │ │
│ │ attendee)│ │ /rules) │ │ │ │
│ └─────────┘ └─────────┘ └──────┘ │
└──────┬──────────┬──────────┬─────────┘
│ │ │
┌──────────┴──┐ ┌────┴────┐ ┌───┴────────┐
│ COMMUNICATE │ │ ARCHIVE │ │ ACT │
│ Slack │ │ Notion │ │ Linear/Jira│
│ Email │ │ Drive │ │ Asana │
│ Teams │ │ GCS/S3 │ │ HubSpot │
└─────────────┘ └─────────┘ └────────────┘
Step 2 — Folder-Based Routing Topology
Design folder structure to drive automated routing:
| Folder | Trigger Type | Destinations | Permissions |
|---|
Sales / Discovery | Auto | Slack #sales + HubSpot Deal + Follow-up Email | Sales team |
Sales / Demo | Auto | Slack #sales + HubSpot Contact | Sales team |
Engineering / Sprint | Auto | Slack #eng + Linear tasks + Notion wiki | Engineering |
Engineering / Architecture | Auto | Slack #eng-arch + Notion ADR database | Senior engineers |
Product / Customer Feedback | Auto | Slack #product + Notion feedback DB | Product team |
Leadership / All-Hands | Auto | Slack #general + Google Drive archive | All |
Leadership / Board | Manual only | Private Notion, no Slack | Executives only |
HR / Interviews | Manual share | Greenhouse scorecard | Hiring managers |
HR / 1-on-1s | None | Private, no automation | Individual |
Step 3 — Multi-Workspace Topology
Organization (Enterprise)
├── Engineering Workspace
│ ├── Folders: Sprint, Architecture, Standup, Retro
│ ├── Integrations: Linear, Notion, Slack #engineering
│ └── Retention: 2 years notes, 90 days transcripts
│
├── Sales Workspace
│ ├── Folders: Discovery, Demo, Pipeline Review
│ ├── Integrations: HubSpot, Slack #sales, Gmail
│ └── Retention: 1 year notes, 90 days transcripts
│
├── Product Workspace
│ ├── Folders: Customer Feedback, Design Review, PRD
│ ├── Integrations: Notion, Linear, Slack #product
│ └── Retention: 2 years notes, 90 days transcripts
│
├── HR Workspace (Confidential)
│ ├── Folders: Interviews, 1-on-1s, Performance
│ ├── Integrations: Greenhouse (via Zapier)
│ ├── Retention: 30 days notes, 7 days transcripts
│ └── Restrictions: No external sharing, MFA required
│
└── Executive Workspace (Confidential)
├── Folders: Board, Strategy, M&A
├── Integrations: Private Notion only
├── Retention: Custom (legal hold capable)
└── Restrictions: IP allowlist, 4-hour session timeout
Step 4 — Security Architecture
Authentication Layer:
SSO (Okta/Azure AD) → SCIM provisioning → JIT workspace assignment
Data Protection:
In Transit: TLS 1.3 (all API calls)
At Rest: AES-256 (server-side storage)
Local: FileVault/BitLocker (cache-v3.json encryption)
Access Control:
Org Owner → Workspace Admin → Team Lead → Member → Viewer → Guest
↓
SSO groups mapped to Granola roles per workspace
Data Classification:
Confidential: HR, Legal, Board (restricted sharing, short retention)
Internal: Engineering, Product (team sharing, standard retention)
External-Facing: Sales, Customer Success (CRM sync allowed)
Compliance:
SOC 2 Type 2: Certified (July 2025)
GDPR: DPA available, data export/deletion supported
AI Training: Opt-out enforced org-wide (Enterprise default)
Step 5 — Integration Data Flow Patterns
Pattern A: Standard Meeting (Parallel)
Note enhanced → Folder trigger fires
├─→ Slack notification (immediate)
├─→ Notion archive (immediate)
└─→ Linear tasks (per action item)
Pattern B: Sales Meeting (Sequential)
Note enhanced → "Sales / Discovery" folder
│
├─→ HubSpot: Find Contact by attendee email
│ ├─→ Found: Log meeting note on Contact
│ └─→ Not found: Create Contact, then log note
│
├─→ ChatGPT: Generate BANT analysis + follow-up email
│ └─→ Gmail: Create draft to external attendees
│
└─→ Slack: Post summary to #sales with deal context
Pattern C: Executive Meeting (Restricted)
Note enhanced → "Board" folder (no auto-trigger)
│
└─→ Manual share to private Notion database only
└─→ Link expires in 7 days
Step 6 — Disaster Recovery & Data Export
Backup Strategy:
Primary: Granola cloud storage (server-side, encrypted)
Secondary: Local cache (cache-v3.json on each user's device)
Tertiary: Nightly export to cloud storage (via Zapier + GCS/S3)
Recovery Procedures:
1. User device loss: Re-authenticate, data syncs from server
2. Integration outage: Zapier retries automatically; monitor Zap history
3. Granola service outage: Manual notes during outage; capture resumes on recovery
4. Data export request: Enterprise API bulk export or per-user Settings > Data > Export
Output
- Complete meeting ecosystem architecture documented
- Folder-based routing configured per department
- Multi-workspace topology deployed with appropriate isolation
- Security and compliance controls mapped to org requirements
- Disaster recovery plan established
Error Handling
| Error | Cause | Fix |
|---|
| Notes routing to wrong destination | Filter logic error in Zapier Paths | Review path conditions, test with sample data |
| Cross-workspace access denied | Permission boundaries working correctly | Elevate user role or add to target workspace |
| Integration sync delay > 5 min | Zapier queue or destination rate limit | Add delay step, check destination API limits |
| Missing CRM updates for new contacts | Native integration doesn't auto-create | Add Zapier "Find or Create" step |
| Audit log gaps | Logging not enabled on workspace | Enable in Workspace Settings > Security |
Resources
Next Steps
Proceed to granola-multi-env-setup for workspace creation and configuration.
