Does Drupal have a Future??
An Open Letter to my Peers
The Drupal economy is at a crossroads. With Drupal 7 EOL and DrupalCMS just getting off the ground, there’s a lot of uncertainty in the market. DrupalCon Atlanta at the end of March is a great catalyst to discuss this more openly.
So here’s my take: yes Drupal has a future, but the real question is *as what*?
For the project to thrive, I believe it needs to do two things:
1. Navigate the fact that the DXP category is crumbling, and the vendors who defined/led it for years are all stumbling badly
2. Find an identity that maximizes Drupal’s strengths, leaning in to what makes the project truly unique and special
Much easier said than done, but I have some ideas on how it can happen. It’s more than will fit into just one post, but here’s the TL;DR.
R.I.P. DXP
Let’s acknowledge the elephant in the room. The hypothesis behind the DXP category was that customers would want a one-stop-shop for all their digital needs. The hypothesis was wrong. In fact, the exact opposite thing happened.
Since the category was created, rather than consolidation in the market, we saw the explosion of the Martech 10,000.
All the vendors who tried to run the analyst playbook are hurting, and it’s a problem for Drupal that Acquia is one of those vendors. Drupal needs an escape from this situation.
Customers need to know they made a smart investment in Drupal and that better results are within reach. Instead of doing a giant rebuild of everything, they can change their approach, and start making headway in months, not years.
Lean Into Drupal’s Power
Drupal’s future isn’t in a DXP, but it’s also not as a WordPress competitor for the mass market. In my opinion, there are two use-cases where Drupal uniquely shines:
First, as an "agile business driver" for modern digital teams, supporting an evolving customer experience and martech stack by driving continuous improvement
Second, as a way for large organizations to have "freedom within a framework" as part of their digital strategy, vs the monolithic one-size-fits-all status quo.
These are the use-cases where Drupal’s modularity, robust data model, and ecosystem of integrations really pay off, and the distribution/recipe capability is a genuine game-changer. You can start fast but still customize where needed without running up too much technical debt.
Most importantly, you keep moving forward. It’s not a one-and-done thing.
This is what historical DXP buyers truly need, not another RFP. It also matches the goals of mid-size companies that are serious about innovative digital strategy. Drupal empowers teams to deliver with a modern approach: building out stacks of carefully selected pieces vs coping with vendor suites of slapped together acquisitions.
I have a lot more more thoughts, and more detail to share on my market analysis, but this is already running a little long. Let me know in the comments where you see Drupal’s future going!
