NEWS
February 24, 2025
- Services
Datasheet
White Paper
The AI-First Enterprise Drupal Migration Framework Built for CTOs
Drupal 10 reaches end of life on December 9, 2026. The organizations that migrate well start before the deadline forces the decision.
Most enterprise Drupal migrations that fail do not fail during execution. They fail during scoping, because integration complexity was underestimated, compliance sequencing was deferred, or internal capacity was overstated.
This playbook is a framework for avoiding those failures: a structured, decision-ready guide for CTOs and CIOs navigating the scoping, governance, and team decisions that determine whether a migration delivers strategic value or simply moves content from one platform to another.
What's inside
The four migration archetypes Rehost, Replatform, Refactor, and Replace, mapped to organizational profile, integration complexity, and governance maturity. The archetype decision is strategic, not technical.
The scoping framework Four pillars that must be resolved before a statement of work is signed: content audit, module and integration inventory, compliance sequencing, and organizational readiness. Includes the scoping checklist appendix.
Where migrations fail The four risk categories that derail enterprise projects and why what presents as a technical failure is almost always a governance or ownership problem that was not resolved during scoping.
Governance and team model Three team configurations, three governance failure modes, and the internal capabilities that are non-negotiable regardless of which model the organization chooses.
Who Is This Playbook For?
This playbook is written for CTOs and CIOs at enterprise nonprofits, universities, and government agencies who are evaluating a migration from Drupal 7, Drupal 9, or Drupal 10 to Drupal 11. It is also relevant for VP-level technology leaders who are preparing an internal business case or evaluating implementation partners.
The measure of a successful migration is not whether the site launched. It is whether the platform can support intelligent search, personalization, and AI-driven workflows within 12 months of go-live.
FAQs
Most migration guides focus on the technical execution of moving content between platforms. This playbook focuses on the decisions that precede execution, specifically the scoping, governance, and organizational readiness decisions that determine whether a migration succeeds or fails before a line of code is written. The central argument is that most enterprise migrations fail during scoping, not execution, and the framework is structured around that claim.
It means treating migration as the prerequisite for AI readiness rather than a standalone infrastructure project. Drupal 11's API-first architecture and structured content model make it possible to connect content to intelligent search, personalization engines, and automated workflows. Legacy CMS architectures, tightly coupled, monolithic, built before API-first design was standard, cannot support those capabilities regardless of the tools layered on top of them. A migration done well positions the organization to act on AI investments it is likely already making. A migration done poorly, or deferred, delays that capability by years.
Timeline varies significantly based on which migration archetype is appropriate for the organization. A Rehost engagement, moving infrastructure without changing code or content structure, can be completed in four to eight weeks. A Replatform, which is the most common path for enterprise organizations with existing Drupal investment, typically takes three to five months. A Refactor, which involves rewriting custom modules and modernizing architecture, takes five to nine months. A full Greenfield replacement from a non-Drupal platform can take six to twelve months or more. The playbook covers all four paths and the organizational conditions that determine which one is appropriate.
