A Re-Energized Web Experience for a Dynamic, Tech-Savvy California County

Orange County, California

Client Info

Orange County serves over 3 million residents across 948 square miles, making it the 6th most populous county in the United States. Their website, built on proprietary software approaching end-of-life, was becoming costly and difficult to manage. With 41 department websites needing regular updates, they needed a solution that would free them from vendor lock-in while giving their team more control.

Industry

State & Local Government

Top challenge

• The website had been built on proprietary web software that was facing end-of-life status.

• The site lacked the needed flexibility. Updates and revisions often required IT involvement.

• The size and scope of the Orange County website represented inherent migration challenges associated with bringing owners from 41 distinct sites on board and accountable to an aggressive migration timeline.

• The previous hosting relationship had become cost prohibitive relative to the services provided.

Top solution

• Migration to an Open Source CMS ensured that Orange County would no longer be locked into a relationship with a specific vendor’s proprietary software, and that moving forward, the county would own the code and benefit from the ongoing enhancements.

• The Provus® platform provided a foundation for no-code, drag-and-drop content editing, empowering hundreds of designated staff members to easily make edits or switch up layouts to their department’s sites.

• A detailed roadmap was created to guide the migration from proprietary software to an Open Source Drupal CMS. 41 sites were migrated within 12 six-week waves that adhered to a highly detailed roadmap that set forth well-established, repeatable processes.

• The Acquia Cloud hosting platform provided unparalleled scalability, along with the confidence and peace of mind concerning present and future infrastructure support—within a pricing model that is proving to be cost far more cost effective.

We now have the advantage of an open-source CMS that is aligned with the worldwide Drupal Community. The result is big benefits. Taking all factors into account, we estimate that the annual cost savings will exceed $100,000.

Quazi Hashmi

Program Manager, County of Orange, California

What We Did

We guided Orange County's migration from their proprietary system to Drupal, an open-source CMS. The project involved carefully moving 41 department websites in 12 six-week waves, each with its own discovery, training, and implementation phase.

Simple Content Management for Every Department

Using our Provus® platform, we built a system that lets non-technical staff update their department's websites without calling IT. Over 100 content editors can now easily create pages, switch layouts, and make updates using drag-and-drop tools—while maintaining consistent branding across all sites.

Better Organization, Better Service

We restructured how information is presented across all 41 sites, making it easier for residents to find what they need. The new system includes powerful search features that work across all department websites, helping visitors quickly locate services and information.

Cost Savings Through Open Source

By moving away from proprietary software and expensive hosting, Orange County now saves over $100,000 annually. They own their website's code and can tap into updates and improvements from the global Drupal community at no extra cost.

The Result

The successful migration delivered immediate benefits: streamlined content management across 41 departments, significant cost savings, improved search functionality, and better mobile access. The project was completed on schedule through 12 carefully managed phases, with over 100 staff members trained on the new system.

Strategy & Planning

Migration roadmap
Content strategy
User experience design

Technical Implementation

Drupal development
Custom search setup
Data migration

Content Management

Provus® platform setup
Department microsites
Editor training

Infrastructure

Acquia Cloud hosting
Performance optimization
Security configuration

Let’s start your project

Let's discuss how we can help you move from costly proprietary systems to a flexible, open-source solution that puts you in control while reducing ongoing expenses.

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