DrupalCon Session: Drupal as a Web Application and Product Platform

The state of Drupal as a Web Application & Product Platform

What makes it a product? It has customers, revenue, product lifecycle

Why create products?  To solve a problem once -> create a product -> reuse that product

History

• Clients++ (All about meeting the needs of clients.)
• Custom services eventually become products
• Building and Developing can burn you out
• See 5 clients with the same need. It can be more efficient to create the solution once, and sell it to all 5 clients.
• “The Product (Platform) is the next big step in Drupal’s lifecycle” (emphasis) read on...

Drupal IS

• a platform or framework
• a solid foundation

Drupal IS the product

• Open Atrium
• Managing News
• Open Publish
• Tattler

Drupal is PART of the product

• Mercury
• Aegir
• both of these examples are stacks that are completely open source and include Drupal.

The product is BASED on Drupal

• Buzzr
• Drupal Gardens
• Drupal Commons

Considerations

Should you develop the product in house or hire contractors? Development Seed builds in house and uses their products internally (eating their own dog food, so to speak) to be familiar with and fully test the product.

Who pays for it?

• investors or loans
• grants from a foundation
• multiple clients with the same need
• client as a development engagement
• client as workd for hire
• self-funded

Who “owns” the product? Funder/sponsor? Client? You?

Common Licenses

• most often GPL
• BSD license is used by Development Seed for their completely custom code.

Start with good specs for the product. Identify the needs it will meet, and spell out what exactly it should do. Then adjust as development proceeds.

• Drupal Commons (Acquia) started with a spec sheet based on Jive’s features.

Recognition comes from offering a product

• release it for free
• people come to rely on your product
• people come to build upon your product
• people eventually turn to you for custom addon work

How to get paid

• more consultation
• support
• service fees
• freemium service (like drupal gardens)
• partner programs (Acquia and Development Seed are starting partnership programs)

Be a driver for the (Drupal) platform

• these products can influence the future of drupal core
  • making drupal support custom “products” better
  • adding features to drupal core that are commonly placed in these products
• parts of a product can be released individually as contributed modules and themes.

What you can create or give

• Distributions
• Features
• Products
• Services

Major takeaway: It is important to share, one way or another, to help shape Drupal and gain recognition and support.