Local spark, national impact: an open-source public consultations module built to share, built to scale.
The 2025 Annual Maintainer Check-In is now complete, a huge thank you to everyone who responded and to all the maintainers who continue to keep Drupal core moving forward.
As part of this process, we’ve confirmed that a number of Drupal Core subsystems and topic areas are currently without an active maintainer.
If you’ve ever thought about stepping into a maintainer role, or co-maintaining alongside others, now is the perfect time to get involved.
Maintainers play a key role in ensuring the quality, stability, and momentum of Drupal core.
Maintainers help shape the direction of their subsystem or topic area, guide contributors as well as triage issues and review merge requests.
You don’t need to be a long-time contributor, if you’ve been active in a related area or are keen to grow your involvement, we’d love to hear from you.
Learn more about the maintainer role:
If you’d like to maintain or co-maintain one or more of these areas:
Once interest is expressed:
Thank you to everyone who contributes as a Drupal maintainer, your work is what keeps Drupal core secure, stable, and evolving.
The 2025 Annual Maintainer Check-In is now complete, a huge thank you to everyone who responded and to all the maintainers who continue to keep Drupal core moving forward.
As part of this process, we’ve confirmed that a number of Drupal Core subsystems and topic areas are currently without an active maintainer.
If you’ve ever thought about stepping into a maintainer role, or co-maintaining alongside others, now is the perfect time to get involved.
Maintainers play a key role in ensuring the quality, stability, and momentum of Drupal core.
Maintainers help shape the direction of their subsystem or topic area, guide contributors as well as triage issues and review merge requests.
You don’t need to be a long-time contributor, if you’ve been active in a related area or are keen to grow your involvement, we’d love to hear from you.
Learn more about the maintainer role:
If you’d like to maintain or co-maintain one or more of these areas:
Once interest is expressed:
Thank you to everyone who contributes as a Drupal maintainer, your work is what keeps Drupal core secure, stable, and evolving.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a rich and multi-dimensional craft, with numerous best practices and techniques to apply on your Drupal site. Optimizing your content, configuring an XML sitemap, and creating well-structured URLs are just a few examples of what should be done for SEO success.
read moreToday we are talking about the community working group, What they do, and how you can help with guests AmyJune Hineline, Mark Casias, and Matthew Saunders. We'll also cover Drupal CMS Geo Images as our module of the week.
For show notes visit: https://www.talkingDrupal.com/530
TopicsAmyJune Hineline - volkswagenchick Matthew Saunders - jamesmatthewsaunders.ai MatthewS Mark Casias - omibee.com markie
HostsNic Laflin - nLighteneddevelopment.com nicxvan John Picozzi - epam.com johnpicozzi
MOTW CorrespondentMike Anello - drupaleasy.com ultimike
DrupalCon Asia 2025 in Nara, Japan, closed with a strong sense of momentum. Dries Buytaert’s Q&A format replaced a traditional keynote, and it paid off with direct insight into where Drupal is heading. The discussion tracked real trends across the ecosystem. Drupal CMS adoption continues to rise, the upcoming Drupal Canvas release is shaping expectations for easier site building, and the planned site template marketplace signals a shift toward faster delivery for agencies and teams.
Government interest in open source also stood out. Dries noted that digital sovereignty is becoming a priority across regions, positioning Drupal well for long-term public-sector growth. On the ground in Nara, the commitment felt real. The city’s mayor, Gen Nakagawa, opened the event by stating his goal to make Nara the most Drupal-friendly city in the world. It is rare for municipal leadership to tie open source directly to civic strategy, and it captured the tone of the week.
Beyond the sessions and the packed YouTube playlist, the Drupal CMS leadership team used the conference as a working sprint to align on priorities for the next six months. Agencies and end users shared where they need support, shaping the product roadmap. The result is a community that feels focused, confident, and ready for another cycle of growth.
We acknowledge that there are more stories to share. However, due to selection constraints, we must pause further exploration for now. To get timely updates, follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Bluesky, and Facebook. You can also join us on Drupal Slack at #thedroptimes.
Thank you.
Kazima Abbas,
Sub-editor,
The DropTimes.
For the past three years, the Drupal Advent Calendar has spotlighted shiny new modules, clever projects, and all sorts of open-source goodness.
This year we’re hanging up our “new module smell” stockings and doing something different.
It’s time to celebrate the people, the elves, reindeer, and magical snow-folks who keep the Drupal project running behind the scenes.
This year’s theme is The People of Drupal, and we’re on a quest to find the unsung heroes who quietly make the magic happen.
We’re asking initiative leads to nominate someone from their project who’s made a meaningful impact but hasn’t…
This year, DrupalCamp Scotland was held on the 7th November, at the University of Edinburgh.
On the morning of the conference I made the quick walk from by bed and breakfast and arrived at 50 George Square to join in with around 60 attendees to a day of talks and chatting.
The morning coffee and a selection of pastries was set out in the corridor outside the main room of the conference. I'm sure a few of the tasty pastries were lost to passing students.
After getting settled in we had a quick introduction session by Stratos Filalthis before we started the day.
The first talk of the day was with Paul McCrodden and Laura Waldoch, with their talk Less Is More: Streamlining 500+ Diverse University Sites into One Central Platform. Paul and Laura both work at the University of Cambridge and the talk was a look at how the university is taking the 500+ websites that are dotted around and consolodating them into a single resource. That single resource is powered by Drupal 11 and the talk looked at how they were building a Drupal install profile that could handle the requirements that these different sites had.
read moreManaging content workflows in Drupal requires tools that track content from draft to publication. Drupal provides options for implementing workflows at different levels, from basic content moderation to field-level state management and webform submission tracking.
In the video above, you'll learn how to set up and configure Content Moderation, use field-level state management with the Field States Transitions module, and track webform submissions with the Webform Workflows Element.
read moreThe Drupal Association is excited to announce that our t-shirt design contest will be returning for DrupalCon Chicago!
We want to see the Drupal community's design ideas for the official t-shirt, available for all attendees to wear and enjoy. Do you have a fantastic idea in mind? Let’s see your creativity!
The winner will get THEIR design on the front of the official t-shirt for DrupalCon Chicago!
Judges are looking for a combination of creativity, impact, and relevance to the Drupal community. A design that tells a story and aligns with the values and aspirations of DrupalCon attendees is likely to capture attention.
While exploring bold ideas, consider how your design will resonate with a diverse audience. Think of classic elements that make a T-shirt memorable while pushing creative boundaries. Avoid overcomplicating things; sometimes less is more, especially if every element adds value to the message.
Your design must include the DrupalCon Chicago Logo and will only be featured on the front of the t-shirt. Sponsor logos will be added to the t-shirts sleeves after the design is finalized.
All designs must be submitted by 21 December 2025 at 23:59 UTC, after which the submission form will close.
The Drupal Association will then select 4 designs to go forward to a public vote.
The top three designs as chosen by the Drupal Association will then be voted upon by the public, with voting open 5 January until 12 January 2026 at 23:59 UTC.*
The winning design will be printed on the front of the official DrupalCon Chicago t-shirt and the winner will receive a complimentary ticket to their choice of either DrupalCon Chicago 2026 or DrupalCon North America 2027.
Simply create your design, then fill out our submission form by 21 December 2025 to submit your final design. We also ask that you include a sentence or two describing why you chose your design and how it represents the Drupal community.
So, what are you waiting for? Submit your design now, and please help us spread the word throughout the Drupal community!
Good luck!
* Dates for public voting dates are subject to change but will be open for a minimum of 1 week.
** Drupal Association staff and members of the DrupalCon Chicago Steering Committee will not be permitted to enter this contest.
The Drupal Association is excited to announce that our t-shirt design contest will be returning for DrupalCon Chicago!
We want to see the Drupal community's design ideas for the official t-shirt, available for all attendees to wear and enjoy. Do you have a fantastic idea in mind? Let’s see your creativity!
The winner will get THEIR design on the front of the official t-shirt for DrupalCon Chicago!
Judges are looking for a combination of creativity, impact, and relevance to the Drupal community. A design that tells a story and aligns with the values and aspirations of DrupalCon attendees is likely to capture attention.
While exploring bold ideas, consider how your design will resonate with a diverse audience. Think of classic elements that make a T-shirt memorable while pushing creative boundaries. Avoid overcomplicating things; sometimes less is more, especially if every element adds value to the message.
Your design must include the DrupalCon Chicago Logo and will only be featured on the front of the t-shirt. Sponsor logos will be added to the t-shirts sleeves after the design is finalized.
All designs must be submitted by 21 December 2025 at 23:59 UTC, after which the submission form will close.
The Drupal Association will then select 4 designs to go forward to a public vote.
The top three designs as chosen by the Drupal Association will then be voted upon by the public, with voting open 5 January until 12 January 2026 at 23:59 UTC.*
The winning design will be printed on the front of the official DrupalCon Chicago t-shirt and the winner will receive a complimentary ticket to their choice of either DrupalCon Chicago 2026 or DrupalCon North America 2027.
Simply create your design, then fill out our submission form by 21 December 2025 to submit your final design. We also ask that you include a sentence or two describing why you chose your design and how it represents the Drupal community.
So, what are you waiting for? Submit your design now, and please help us spread the word throughout the Drupal community!
Good luck!
* Dates for public voting dates are subject to change but will be open for a minimum of 1 week.
** Drupal Association staff and members of the DrupalCon Chicago Steering Committee will not be permitted to enter this contest.
Vibe-coding is all the rage today. Who needs a developer when you can get an AI to develop an application for you? There are scads of application development tools now that promise to create that app you always wanted -- and surprisingly, these often work!
Omedia has put a lot of effort into getting the 1.2 version of MCP out. The module is now security covered, it works with the Tool API, adds OAuth authentication, a much better configuration system and a first preview of MCP Studio.
It now fully supports the HTTP and STDIO transports and independent where you want to source your tools, AI function calling, Drush commands or Tool API its all just available.
Read more about Giorgi Jibladze’s post on LinkedIn.
Thanks to Andrei Ivnitskii (ivnish), the first stable version of the LMStudio provider for the Drupal AI module is now available. This release introduces full integration with LMStudio, giving developers a local, flexible, and GUI-driven environment for running and testing AI models directly from their Drupal site.
This integration is built for developers and data scientists who need a controlled testing environment, but find Ollama or vLLM too complex to set up and use. By pairing Drupal AI with LMStudio, you can iterate quickly, test safely, and work offline - perfect for preparing models before scaling up to cloud-based providers.
Try it out and help out in https://www.drupal.org/project/ai_provider_lmstudio
I met with the awesome AI Initiative QA team a couple of weeks ago and they have set up processes for how both manual and automated QA can happen on issues.
They have an issue where you can follow their work on here: https://www.drupal.org/project/ai_initiative/issues/3550700
The idea is to standardize the “Needs QA” tag, where you as a developer can request manual testing and get feedback on the process.
Next steps, include looking into how DrupalForge/DrupalPod can be used for AI purposes to start images based on an issue on DrupalForge with the push of a button and also local development environments.
If you want to get in touch with the team they are on #ai-quality-insurance Slack channel.
We have already started working on deprecations of modules, and other code for an 1.3.0 release and the work on all the refactors needed for 2.0 is started. The goal is to have a version ready by the end of the year and that fixes up a lot of architectural decisions made in 1.x branch and also removes a lot of features that were experimental, but never really usable.
Note that there will not be that many features in the 2.0 branch, but the focus is rather on better code architecture, better UX, extraction of modules and removal of features that don't work well.
By removing modules, we hope we can have an even faster development and release pace going forward.
Check the issue queue for more information.
One of the larger rewrites for 2.0 is Automators - and one of the features this will bring is the possibility to add multiple Automators one field. While this has been possible in theory in the 1.x branches, this required you to do complex config imports - now they will be a part of the native UI/UX of the Automators.
This together with the Field Widget Actions, means that you can have multiple ways of generating one part of a field, or one button per part of a field.
This means that on an image field for instance, you could setup a button that generates the image, another that renames the file name and a third that creates an alt text.
Or if you want a summarize button in a friendly manner and another in a formal manner, you can have both on the same field.
This is ready to be tested on 2.0.x-dev, but please note that the external Automators modules will also need changes due to breaking changes.
A huge thanks to Bryan Sharpe from ImageX for this and anyone helping with testing and reviewing.
Omedia has put a lot of effort into getting the 1.2 version of MCP out. The module is now security covered, it works with the Tool API, adds OAuth authentication, a much better configuration system and a first preview of MCP Studio.
It now fully supports the HTTP and STDIO transports and independent where you want to source your tools, AI function calling, Drush commands or Tool API its all just available.
Read more about Giorgi Jibladze’s post on LinkedIn.
Thanks to Andrei Ivnitskii (ivnish), the first stable version of the LMStudio provider for the Drupal AI module is now available. This release introduces full integration with LMStudio, giving developers a local, flexible, and GUI-driven environment for running and testing AI models directly from their Drupal site.
This integration is built for developers and data scientists who need a controlled testing environment, but find Ollama or vLLM too complex to set up and use. By pairing Drupal AI with LMStudio, you can iterate quickly, test safely, and work offline - perfect for preparing models before scaling up to cloud-based providers.
Try it out and help out in https://www.drupal.org/project/ai_provider_lmstudio
I met with the awesome AI Initiative QA team a couple of weeks ago and they have set up processes for how both manual and automated QA can happen on issues.
They have an issue where you can follow their work on here: https://www.drupal.org/project/ai_initiative/issues/3550700
The idea is to standardize the “Needs QA” tag, where you as a developer can request manual testing and get feedback on the process.
Next steps, include looking into how DrupalForge/DrupalPod can be used for AI purposes to start images based on an issue on DrupalForge with the push of a button and also local development environments.
If you want to get in touch with the team they are on #ai-quality-insurance Slack channel.
We have already started working on deprecations of modules, and other code for an 1.3.0 release and the work on all the refactors needed for 2.0 is started. The goal is to have a version ready by the end of the year and that fixes up a lot of architectural decisions made in 1.x branch and also removes a lot of features that were experimental, but never really usable.
Note that there will not be that many features in the 2.0 branch, but the focus is rather on better code architecture, better UX, extraction of modules and removal of features that don't work well.
By removing modules, we hope we can have an even faster development and release pace going forward.
Check the issue queue for more information.
One of the larger rewrites for 2.0 is Automators - and one of the features this will bring is the possibility to add multiple Automators one field. While this has been possible in theory in the 1.x branches, this required you to do complex config imports - now they will be a part of the native UI/UX of the Automators.
This together with the Field Widget Actions, means that you can have multiple ways of generating one part of a field, or one button per part of a field.
This means that on an image field for instance, you could setup a button that generates the image, another that renames the file name and a third that creates an alt text.
Or if you want a summarize button in a friendly manner and another in a formal manner, you can have both on the same field.
This is ready to be tested on 2.0.x-dev, but please note that the external Automators modules will also need changes due to breaking changes.
A huge thanks to Bryan Sharpe from ImageX for this and anyone helping with testing and reviewing.
Across every sector, leaders see the potential of AI, but many are struggling to turn that potential into measurable value.
Gartner’s 2023 and 2024 findings show that a significant proportion of AI projects stall before reaching production, often due to unclear use cases and limited organizational readiness. The MIT Sloan Management Review highlights that, while most executives recognize AI’s transformative potential, few can translate it into ROI.
That’s why we created our new series of Drupal AI Industry Guides, to help organizations understand where AI can deliver real, responsible, and measurable impact. Each guide is written by sector experts with firsthand experience implementing AI with Drupal.
These guides are about doing more with less — a key message in today’s digital landscape. Each one features four practical AI use cases that your organization can adopt right now using Drupal AI.
Every use case is grounded in ROI and designed to show how AI can:
Simplify and speed up workflows
Drupal AI brings freedom of choice and rapid innovation to AI adoption. It combines the trust of open source with the power of artificial intelligence.
Each guide is authored by a Drupal AI sector specialist, professionals who understand both the technology and the real-world challenges of their industries. These guides are designed to move teams from curiosity to capability, showing that
AI doesn’t have to be experimental — it can be effective, ethical, and immediate.
Explore the collection:
Every Drupal AI solution is built on the freedom of open source — giving you control, transparency, and flexibility to experiment safely. Drupal AI is:
Drupal is the best AI-powered open-source CMS in the world — built for innovation, designed for trust.
From Curiosity to Capability
The AI opportunity is real, and with Drupal, it’s achievable right now. The Drupal AI Industry Guides are your starting point to:
By combining Drupal’s open web foundation with responsible, human-centered AI, you can deliver the innovation and productivity of AI while preserving the judgment, creativity, and context that only people can bring.
AI Makers are a select number of Drupal Certified Partners who are funding and actively working on Drupal AI to ensure it delivers a significant and strategic impact. They provide consulting services to help you build the best AI based digital experience for your needs.
Visit the full collection of Drupal AI Industry Guides and discover how Drupal AI can help your organization move faster, innovate responsibly, and stay open to what’s next.
Across every sector, leaders see the potential of AI, but many are struggling to turn that potential into measurable value.
Gartner’s 2023 and 2024 findings show that a significant proportion of AI projects stall before reaching production, often due to unclear use cases and limited organizational readiness. The MIT Sloan Management Review highlights that, while most executives recognize AI’s transformative potential, few can translate it into ROI.
That’s why we created our new series of Drupal AI Industry Guides, to help organizations understand where AI can deliver real, responsible, and measurable impact. Each guide is written by sector experts with firsthand experience implementing AI with Drupal.
These guides are about doing more with less — a key message in today’s digital landscape. Each one features four practical AI use cases that your organization can adopt right now using Drupal AI.
Every use case is grounded in ROI and designed to show how AI can:
Simplify and speed up workflows
Drupal AI brings freedom of choice and rapid innovation to AI adoption. It combines the trust of open source with the power of artificial intelligence.
Each guide is authored by a Drupal AI sector specialist, professionals who understand both the technology and the real-world challenges of their industries. These guides are designed to move teams from curiosity to capability, showing that
AI doesn’t have to be experimental — it can be effective, ethical, and immediate.
Explore the collection:
Every Drupal AI solution is built on the freedom of open source — giving you control, transparency, and flexibility to experiment safely. Drupal AI is:
Drupal is the best AI-powered open-source CMS in the world — built for innovation, designed for trust.
From Curiosity to Capability
The AI opportunity is real, and with Drupal, it’s achievable right now. The Drupal AI Industry Guides are your starting point to:
By combining Drupal’s open web foundation with responsible, human-centered AI, you can deliver the innovation and productivity of AI while preserving the judgment, creativity, and context that only people can bring.
AI Makers are a select number of Drupal Certified Partners who are funding and actively working on Drupal AI to ensure it delivers a significant and strategic impact. They provide consulting services to help you build the best AI based digital experience for your needs.
Visit the full collection of Drupal AI Industry Guides and discover how Drupal AI can help your organization move faster, innovate responsibly, and stay open to what’s next.
DrupalCon Nara just wrapped up, and it left me feeling energized.
During the opening ceremony, Nara City Mayor Gen Nakagawa shared his ambition to make Nara the most Drupal-friendly city in the world. I've attended many conferences over the years, but I've never seen a mayor talk about open source as part of his city's long-term strategy. It was surprising, encouraging, and even a bit surreal.
Because Nara came only five weeks after DrupalCon Vienna, I didn't prepare a traditional keynote. Instead, Pam Barone, CTO of Technocrat and a member of the Drupal CMS leadership team, led a Q&A.
I like the Q&A format because it makes space for more natural questions and more candid answers than a prepared keynote allows.
We covered a lot: the momentum behind Drupal CMS, the upcoming Drupal Canvas launch, our work on a site template marketplace, how AI is reshaping digital agencies, why governments are leaning into open source for digital sovereignty, and more.
If you want more background, my DrupalCon Vienna keynote offers helpful context and includes a video recording with product demos.
The event also featured excellent sessions with deep dives into these topics. All session recordings are available on the DrupalCon Nara YouTube playlist.
Having much of the Drupal CMS leadership team together in Japan also turned the week into a working session. We met daily to align on our priorities for the next six months.
On top of that, I spent most of my time in back-to-back meetings with Drupal agencies and end-users. Hearing about their ambitions and where they need help gave me a clearer sense of where Drupal should go next.
Thank you to the organizers and to everyone who took the time to meet. The commitment and care of the community in Japan really stood out.
read moreJoin us THURSDAY, November 20 at 1pm ET / 10am PT, for our regularly scheduled call to chat about all things Drupal and nonprofits. (Convert to your local time zone.)
We don't have anything specific on the agenda this month, so we'll have plenty of time to discuss anything that's on our minds at the intersection of Drupal and nonprofits. Got something specific you want to talk about? Feel free to share ahead of time in our collaborative Google document!
All nonprofit Drupal devs and users, regardless of experience level, are always welcome on this call.
This free call is sponsored by NTEN.org and open to everyone.
Information on joining the meeting can be found in our collaborative Google document.
Join us THURSDAY, November 20 at 1pm ET / 10am PT, for our regularly scheduled call to chat about all things Drupal and nonprofits. (Convert to your local time zone.)
We don't have anything specific on the agenda this month, so we'll have plenty of time to discuss anything that's on our minds at the intersection of Drupal and nonprofits. Got something specific you want to talk about? Feel free to share ahead of time in our collaborative Google document!
All nonprofit Drupal devs and users, regardless of experience level, are always welcome on this call.
This free call is sponsored by NTEN.org and open to everyone.
Information on joining the meeting can be found in our collaborative Google document.
Nara, Japan – Sharp Europe detailed how it built a digital infrastructure for one of the world's most complex B2B operations on Drupal, managing 120,000 enterprise customers across 48 countries with 17 sites in 19 languages.
The electronics giant generates €13.5 billion in annual revenue, with 40% coming from B2B operations that serve vastly different audiences – from 110,000 small enterprises requiring low-touch transactions to mid-market companies needing sophisticated engagement.
"Big, complex, broad, deep," said Jason Cort, who leads European product management and marketing for Sharp. "That's what our martech stack has to support."
Image: Shigeru Kobayashi – COO Executive Officer, Head of B2B, Sharp
Sharp Europe operates 63 offices across 48 countries, supporting 11 currencies and multiple sales channels. The product portfolio spans document solutions, IT services, and professional display systems – all requiring a unified digital presence for 2,500 employees and 120,000 enterprise customers.
Six years ago, the existing martech stack "was past its sell-by date," Cort said. But a complete refresh – including CRM and ecommerce portals – meant significant investment. The business case had to be airtight.
The public website became the starting point: "the biggest shop window with a global audience." With 80% of the buying cycle happening online, the digital experience had to work.
Sharp needed three things: the right technology, the right partner, and the right ROI.
Drupal checked the technology boxes: enterprise scale, open source, cloud-ready, secure, with the right APIs. But technology alone wasn't enough.
"Even with the best tech in the world, we need the right partner," Cort said. "If you fail with security, there is a very high price to pay."
Sharp selected 1xINTERNET, a Diamond Drupal Certified Partner.
The implementation now spans 17 sites in 19 languages. Internal stakeholders are "truly delighted," particularly the marketing teams.
Traffic optimization has improved, directing consumer traffic appropriately while focusing resources on B2B journeys. The platform enables rapid A/B testing and accessibility compliance – critical for operating across European markets.
"The platform gives us the agility and flexibility we need," Cort said. "1xINTERNET is able to deliver quickly for us."
One finding surprised the team: "We've found building custom things for our needs in Drupal is more cost effective than buying an off-the-shelf solution and tailoring it to our needs."
Drupal now sits at the heart of Sharp Europe's entire martech stack, integrating with CRM, analytics, and commerce systems.
Image: Members of the DrupalCon Nara organizing team and Sharp Corporation, including Dries Buytaert, Jason Cort and Shigeru Kobayashi, and Baddy Breidert (1xINTERNET).
Cort and Shigeru Kobayashi, Co-COO Executive Officer and Head of B2B at Sharp, shared three takeaways:
"Finding the right partner is as important as the right platform," Cort said. "Drupal is absolutely the right choice. Sharp will be on the platform for many years to come."
Sharp's partnership with 1xINTERNET demonstrates the value of the Drupal Certified Partner program. DCPs have demonstrated expertise, committed to best practices, and invested in the Drupal ecosystem – exactly what enterprise buyers need when stakes are high.
For organizations evaluating Drupal, Sharp's six-year journey offers a clear data point: a €13.5 billion global business betting its digital infrastructure on open source, delivered through a certified partner.
The Drupal Association maintains a directory of Drupal Certified Partners at Drupal.org.
DrupalCon Asia continues through November 20 in Nara, Japan.
Nara, Japan – Sharp Europe detailed how it built a digital infrastructure for one of the world's most complex B2B operations on Drupal, managing 120,000 enterprise customers across 48 countries with 17 sites in 19 languages.
The electronics giant generates €13.5 billion in annual revenue, with 40% coming from B2B operations that serve vastly different audiences – from 110,000 small enterprises requiring low-touch transactions to mid-market companies needing sophisticated engagement.
"Big, complex, broad, deep," said Jason Cort, who leads European product management and marketing for Sharp. "That's what our martech stack has to support."
Image: Shigeru Kobayashi – COO Executive Officer, Head of B2B, Sharp
Sharp Europe operates 63 offices across 48 countries, supporting 11 currencies and multiple sales channels. The product portfolio spans document solutions, IT services, and professional display systems – all requiring a unified digital presence for 2,500 employees and 120,000 enterprise customers.
Six years ago, the existing martech stack "was past its sell-by date," Cort said. But a complete refresh – including CRM and ecommerce portals – meant significant investment. The business case had to be airtight.
The public website became the starting point: "the biggest shop window with a global audience." With 80% of the buying cycle happening online, the digital experience had to work.
Sharp needed three things: the right technology, the right partner, and the right ROI.
Drupal checked the technology boxes: enterprise scale, open source, cloud-ready, secure, with the right APIs. But technology alone wasn't enough.
"Even with the best tech in the world, we need the right partner," Cort said. "If you fail with security, there is a very high price to pay."
Sharp selected 1xINTERNET, a Diamond Drupal Certified Partner.
The implementation now spans 17 sites in 19 languages. Internal stakeholders are "truly delighted," particularly the marketing teams.
Traffic optimization has improved, directing consumer traffic appropriately while focusing resources on B2B journeys. The platform enables rapid A/B testing and accessibility compliance – critical for operating across European markets.
"The platform gives us the agility and flexibility we need," Cort said. "1xINTERNET is able to deliver quickly for us."
One finding surprised the team: "We've found building custom things for our needs in Drupal is more cost effective than buying an off-the-shelf solution and tailoring it to our needs."
Drupal now sits at the heart of Sharp Europe's entire martech stack, integrating with CRM, analytics, and commerce systems.
Image: Members of the DrupalCon Nara organizing team and Sharp Corporation, including Dries Buytaert, Jason Cort and Shigeru Kobayashi, and Baddy Breidert (1xINTERNET).
Cort and Shigeru Kobayashi, Co-COO Executive Officer and Head of B2B at Sharp, shared three takeaways:
"Finding the right partner is as important as the right platform," Cort said. "Drupal is absolutely the right choice. Sharp will be on the platform for many years to come."
Sharp's partnership with 1xINTERNET demonstrates the value of the Drupal Certified Partner program. DCPs have demonstrated expertise, committed to best practices, and invested in the Drupal ecosystem – exactly what enterprise buyers need when stakes are high.
For organizations evaluating Drupal, Sharp's six-year journey offers a clear data point: a €13.5 billion global business betting its digital infrastructure on open source, delivered through a certified partner.
The Drupal Association maintains a directory of Drupal Certified Partners at Drupal.org.
DrupalCon Asia continues through November 20 in Nara, Japan.
Nara, Japan – Sharp Europe detailed how it built a digital infrastructure for one of the world's most complex B2B operations on Drupal, managing 120,000 enterprise customers across 48 countries with 17 sites in 19 languages.
The electronics giant generates €13.5 billion in annual revenue, with 40% coming from B2B operations that serve vastly different audiences – from 110,000 small enterprises requiring low-touch transactions to mid-market companies needing sophisticated engagement.
"Big, complex, broad, deep," said Jason Cort, who leads European product management and marketing for Sharp. "That's what our martech stack has to support."
Image: Shigeru Kobayashi – COO Executive Officer, Head of B2B, Sharp
Sharp Europe operates 63 offices across 48 countries, supporting 11 currencies and multiple sales channels. The product portfolio spans document solutions, IT services, and professional display systems – all requiring a unified digital presence for 2,500 employees and 120,000 enterprise customers.
Six years ago, the existing martech stack "was past its sell-by date," Cort said. But a complete refresh – including CRM and ecommerce portals – meant significant investment. The business case had to be airtight.
The public website became the starting point: "the biggest shop window with a global audience." With 80% of the buying cycle happening online, the digital experience had to work.
Sharp needed three things: the right technology, the right partner, and the right ROI.
Drupal checked the technology boxes: enterprise scale, open source, cloud-ready, secure, with the right APIs. But technology alone wasn't enough.
"Even with the best tech in the world, we need the right partner," Cort said. "If you fail with security, there is a very high price to pay."
Sharp selected 1xINTERNET, a Diamond Drupal Certified Partner.
The implementation now spans 17 sites in 19 languages. Internal stakeholders are "truly delighted," particularly the marketing teams.
Traffic optimization has improved, directing consumer traffic appropriately while focusing resources on B2B journeys. The platform enables rapid A/B testing and accessibility compliance – critical for operating across European markets.
"The platform gives us the agility and flexibility we need," Cort said. "1xINTERNET is able to deliver quickly for us."
One finding surprised the team: "We've found building custom things for our needs in Drupal is more cost effective than buying an off-the-shelf solution and tailoring it to our needs."
Drupal now sits at the heart of Sharp Europe's entire martech stack, integrating with CRM, analytics, and commerce systems.
Image: Members of the DrupalCon Nara organizing team and Sharp Corporation, including Dries Buytaert, Jason Cort and Shigeru Kobayashi, and Baddy Breidert (1xINTERNET).
Cort and Shigeru Kobayashi, Co-COO Executive Officer and Head of B2B at Sharp, shared three takeaways:
"Finding the right partner is as important as the right platform," Cort said. "Drupal is absolutely the right choice. Sharp will be on the platform for many years to come."
Sharp's partnership with 1xINTERNET demonstrates the value of the Drupal Certified Partner program. DCPs have demonstrated expertise, committed to best practices, and invested in the Drupal ecosystem – exactly what enterprise buyers need when stakes are high.
For organizations evaluating Drupal, Sharp's six-year journey offers a clear data point: a €13.5 billion global business betting its digital infrastructure on open source, delivered through a certified partner.
The Drupal Association maintains a directory of Drupal Certified Partners at Drupal.org.
DrupalCon Asia continues through November 20 in Nara, Japan.
Nara, Japan – Sharp Europe detailed how it built a digital infrastructure for one of the world's most complex B2B operations on Drupal, managing 120,000 enterprise customers across 48 countries with 17 sites in 19 languages.
The electronics giant generates €13.5 billion in annual revenue, with 40% coming from B2B operations that serve vastly different audiences – from 110,000 small enterprises requiring low-touch transactions to mid-market companies needing sophisticated engagement.
"Big, complex, broad, deep," said Jason Cort, who leads European product management and marketing for Sharp. "That's what our martech stack has to support."
Image: Shigeru Kobayashi – COO Executive Officer, Head of B2B, Sharp
Sharp Europe operates 63 offices across 48 countries, supporting 11 currencies and multiple sales channels. The product portfolio spans document solutions, IT services, and professional display systems – all requiring a unified digital presence for 2,500 employees and 120,000 enterprise customers.
Six years ago, the existing martech stack "was past its sell-by date," Cort said. But a complete refresh – including CRM and ecommerce portals – meant significant investment. The business case had to be airtight.
The public website became the starting point: "the biggest shop window with a global audience." With 80% of the buying cycle happening online, the digital experience had to work.
Sharp needed three things: the right technology, the right partner, and the right ROI.
Drupal checked the technology boxes: enterprise scale, open source, cloud-ready, secure, with the right APIs. But technology alone wasn't enough.
"Even with the best tech in the world, we need the right partner," Cort said. "If you fail with security, there is a very high price to pay."
Sharp selected 1xINTERNET, a Diamond Drupal Certified Partner.
The implementation now spans 17 sites in 19 languages. Internal stakeholders are "truly delighted," particularly the marketing teams.
Traffic optimization has improved, directing consumer traffic appropriately while focusing resources on B2B journeys. The platform enables rapid A/B testing and accessibility compliance – critical for operating across European markets.
"The platform gives us the agility and flexibility we need," Cort said. "1xINTERNET is able to deliver quickly for us."
One finding surprised the team: "We've found building custom things for our needs in Drupal is more cost effective than buying an off-the-shelf solution and tailoring it to our needs."
Drupal now sits at the heart of Sharp Europe's entire martech stack, integrating with CRM, analytics, and commerce systems.
Image: Members of hte DrupalCon Nara organizing team and Sharp Corporation, including Dries Buytaert, Jason Cort and Shigeru Kobayashi, and Baddy Breidert (1xINTERNET).
Cort and Shigeru Kobayashi, Co-COO Executive Officer and Head of B2B at Sharp, shared three takeaways:
"Finding the right partner is as important as the right platform," Cort said. "Drupal is absolutely the right choice. Sharp will be on the platform for many years to come."
Sharp's partnership with 1xINTERNET demonstrates the value of the Drupal Certified Partner program. DCPs have demonstrated expertise, committed to best practices, and invested in the Drupal ecosystem – exactly what enterprise buyers need when stakes are high.
For organizations evaluating Drupal, Sharp's six-year journey offers a clear data point: a €13.5 billion global business betting its digital infrastructure on open source, delivered through a certified partner.
The Drupal Association maintains a directory of Drupal Certified Partners at Drupal.org.
DrupalCon Asia continues through November 20 in Nara, Japan.
Nara, Japan – Sharp Europe detailed how it built a digital infrastructure for one of the world's most complex B2B operations on Drupal, managing 120,000 enterprise customers across 48 countries with 17 sites in 19 languages.
The electronics giant generates €13.5 billion in annual revenue, with 40% coming from B2B operations that serve vastly different audiences – from 110,000 small enterprises requiring low-touch transactions to mid-market companies needing sophisticated engagement.
"Big, complex, broad, deep," said Jason Cort, who leads European product management and marketing for Sharp. "That's what our martech stack has to support."
Image: Shigeru Kobayashi – COO Executive Officer, Head of B2B, Sharp
Sharp Europe operates 63 offices across 48 countries, supporting 11 currencies and multiple sales channels. The product portfolio spans document solutions, IT services, and professional display systems – all requiring a unified digital presence for 2,500 employees and 120,000 enterprise customers.
Six years ago, the existing martech stack "was past its sell-by date," Cort said. But a complete refresh – including CRM and ecommerce portals – meant significant investment. The business case had to be airtight.
The public website became the starting point: "the biggest shop window with a global audience." With 80% of the buying cycle happening online, the digital experience had to work.
Sharp needed three things: the right technology, the right partner, and the right ROI.
Drupal checked the technology boxes: enterprise scale, open source, cloud-ready, secure, with the right APIs. But technology alone wasn't enough.
"Even with the best tech in the world, we need the right partner," Cort said. "If you fail with security, there is a very high price to pay."
Sharp selected 1xINTERNET, a Diamond Drupal Certified Partner.
The implementation now spans 17 sites in 19 languages. Internal stakeholders are "truly delighted," particularly the marketing teams.
Traffic optimization has improved, directing consumer traffic appropriately while focusing resources on B2B journeys. The platform enables rapid A/B testing and accessibility compliance – critical for operating across European markets.
"The platform gives us the agility and flexibility we need," Cort said. "1xINTERNET is able to deliver quickly for us."
One finding surprised the team: "We've found building custom things for our needs in Drupal is more cost effective than buying an off-the-shelf solution and tailoring it to our needs."
Drupal now sits at the heart of Sharp Europe's entire martech stack, integrating with CRM, analytics, and commerce systems.
Image: Members of hte DrupalCon Nara organizing team and Sharp Corporation, including Dries Buytaert, Jason Cort and Shigeru Kobayashi, and Baddy Breidert (1xINTERNET).
Cort and Shigeru Kobayashi, Co-COO Executive Officer and Head of B2B at Sharp, shared three takeaways:
"Finding the right partner is as important as the right platform," Cort said. "Drupal is absolutely the right choice. Sharp will be on the platform for many years to come."
Sharp's partnership with 1xINTERNET demonstrates the value of the Drupal Certified Partner program. DCPs have demonstrated expertise, committed to best practices, and invested in the Drupal ecosystem – exactly what enterprise buyers need when stakes are high.
For organizations evaluating Drupal, Sharp's six-year journey offers a clear data point: a €13.5 billion global business betting its digital infrastructure on open source, delivered through a certified partner.
The Drupal Association maintains a directory of Drupal Certified Partners at Drupal.org.
DrupalCon Asia continues through November 20 in Nara, Japan.
Every community has unsung heroes—people who show up, lend a hand, mentor newcomers, and make everyone around them better. In the Drupal community, we have a special way of recognizing these exceptional individuals: the Aaron Winborn Award.
Nominations are now open for 2026.
This isn't about code commits or issue credits as this award celebrates the human qualities that make our community truly special: service, integrity, kindness, and that rare willingness to go above and beyond.
Aaron Winborn was more than a talented Drupal contributor - he was the embodiment of community spirit. Even with ALS, Aaron continued contributing, mentoring, and uplifting others until his passing in March 2015. Thanks to Hans Riemenschneider's suggestion and the Drupal Community Working Group's efforts, we've honored Aaron's legacy every year since, shining a spotlight on people who carry forward his spirit of generosity and commitment.
The winner receives more than recognition (though the applause at DrupalCon North America's plenary session is pretty special). They also receive a beautifully crafted physical award as well as free registration to DrupalCon North America.
Most importantly, they receive the knowledge that their work - often done quietly, without fanfare - has been seen and valued.
Think about the person who:
Their impact might be local or global, technical or social, recent or sustained over years. If they've made the Drupal community better through their character and contributions, we want to hear about them.
Submit your nominations by Friday, January 9, 2026. A selection committee made up of Community Working Group members and past winners will review all nominations and choose this year's honoree.
Note: Current CWG Conflict Resolution Team members and previous winners are not eligible for the award.
Join these distinguished community members who've received the Aaron Winborn Award:
Nominations close on Friday, January 9, 2026.
Your nomination could shine a light on someone who's been making a difference all along. Don't let this opportunity pass - recognize someone extraordinary.
Are you a designer, artist, or craftsperson who'd love to help create a future Aaron Winborn Award? The physical awards themselves are works of art, and we're always looking for talented creators to collaborate with. Reach out to the Drupal Community Working Group - we'd love to hear from you.
Questions? Contact the Drupal Community Working Group.
Nara, Japan – Drupal founder Dries Buytaert declared a "historic moment" for the platform at DrupalCon Asia today, pointing to four major initiatives running simultaneously that he says will transform Drupal: Drupal CMS 2.0 (launching early 2026), Drupal Canvas, site templates and marketplace, and the Drupal AI program.
"For 20 years people have been saying Drupal is too hard to build pages with. We are changing that," Dries said during a keynote Q&A with Pamela Barrone, CTO of Technocrat and Product Owner of Drupal CMS.
Each initiative has the potential to transform Drupal individually, Dries argued. Together, "the compounding of these ideas will be transformational."
Dries Buytaert and Pamela Barrone on stage in Nara, Japan.
Dries said he's heard consistently from organizations large and small: "We need an easier page builder."
Drupal Canvas, the much-hyped new page builder from Acquia and built with contributions from agencies and the broader community, does exactly that.
The State of New York, with 140 Drupal websites and over 300 content creators, is already evaluating how Drupal Canvas will enable them to build pages while maintaining accessibility standards and brand compliance.
The tool balances competing needs: locking down certain elements to maintain brand consistency and accessibility, while providing flexibility for experts who need creative control.
"It actually makes building pages fun," Barrone said during the session.
Dries made a pragmatic case for AI integration, acknowledging mixed feelings in the community while arguing Drupal can't afford to ignore it:
"We can't ignore how it's changing pretty much everything we do – it's changing how people use websites, how they build websites, and how we create content."
His argument centers on fit: Drupal's structured content, versioning capabilities, and workflow management – features that have made it more complex for beginners – are exactly what AI needs to be reliable and reversible.
"For non-developers, Drupal hasn't been easy to use – AI can help fix that. It can help us overcome our weaknesses and elevate our strengths," he said. "Our competitors don't have the same structural strengths, and that makes Drupal uniquely placed."
At DrupalCon Vienna, Dries demonstrated AI generating complete landing pages from single prompts – potentially reducing what might take 300 clicks to around 30.
The Drupal AI initiative now includes 25 partner organizations contributing staff time, with 1,300 people in the Slack channel.
Site templates build on Drupal's recipe system, bundling modules, configuration, Drupal Canvas themes, and demo content into ready-to-use websites.
"Even an expert can take days or weeks to build a Drupal site," Dries explained. "Site templates remove that learning curve."
A marketplace on Drupal.org will let users browse and install templates for specific use cases. An MVP is expected in 2026, with 10-15 partners committed to building initial templates.
Drupal needs to market itself against proprietary platforms with enormous marketing budgets. How this is achieved is a challenge for the open source project.
Despite packed conference sessions, Dries identified a critical challenge: "Outside, the word hasn't got out there. How do we get the message out to the millions of web developers who have an outdated view of Drupal?"
He emphasized this responsibility extends to the whole community: "We need everyone to change the mindset of millions of people around the world."
When asked about the decision to start the Drupal CMS project, he acknowledged initial uncertainty: "I was nervous making this announcement 18 months ago – it's not easy to create that momentum."
His three-to-five year vision focuses entirely on growth: "Everything I'm trying to help with is all about growth. Marketing, Canvas, AI – it's all about growing Drupal."
Success metrics include increased installs, more contributors, more people in leadership roles, and sustained innovation across strategic initiatives.
"More people are contributing to Drupal than ever, especially to strategic initiatives," he said. "If we can keep it up, great things will happen."
Caption: DrupalCon Asia in Nara, Japan. Flickr image by: Jakub Piasecki, CC BY-SA 4.0
The conference, the first DrupalCon in Japan, reflects Drupal's growing presence in Asia-Pacific. Tim Doyle, CEO of the Drupal Association, noted that the region accounts for 32% of Drupal.org traffic, one-third of project activity, and 24% of top contributors.
Mayor Gen Nakagawa welcomed attendees with a goal to make Nara "the most Drupal friendly city in the world." Half the attendees are from Japan.
DrupalCon Asia continues through November 20.
For the full DrupalCon Asia schedule and session details, visit the official DrupalCon website.
