Expert Insights: Why Open Source for Government Sites

Multiple moving parts needed to align for the 6th largest county in the United States to migrate its website from a proprietary software platform to an open source Drupal CMS within the timeframe of an 18-month hard stop. 

The proprietary software upon which Orange County, Calif’s previous site had been built was facing end of life, and the migration to Drupal drove home some critical truths. Key among them: open source is a far more stable and secure option than proprietary for government and public sector websites. 

During a recent webinar, three key players involved in the migration and maintenance of Orange County’s current website discussed essential success factors, lessons learned,  and essential outcomes. Webinar participants:

• Julie Nguyen, IT Manager, County of Orange;
• Lori Nicolanti, Director, Project Management Office, Promet Source;
• and Tami Pearlstein, Product Marketing Manager, Acquia.    

Webinar highlights

• Julie emphasized that the sixth largest county in the United States could not get by with a sub-par web experience and that costs associated with the proprietary software which powered Orange County’s previous website were significantly  out of sync with services provided.
• She also detailed the perils of vendor lock in, which are inherent to proprietary software..
• Lori pointed out that Orange County was the inaugural project for Promet’s open-source Provus® component-base design system, which played a pivotal role in the achievement of vast new efficiencies. 
• Tami explained how the Acquia Digital Experience Platform (DXP) was a significant factor in cost effectively transforming Orange County’s website into a secure, stable, and scalable open digital experience platform. 

Download the webinar recording.

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