In large digital organizations, migrations are rarely just technical. They’re political. Strategic. And frequently, urgent.
The platform is outdated. The content is sprawling. The experience no longer matches the brand. And yet, stakeholders need results, fast.
The default instinct? Rebuild everything.
But here’s the catch: when you're managing multiple user segments, partner integrations, live event data, and branded content, a full rebuild is often the slowest, riskiest option.
This is the story of how we approached that exact challenge, migrating a complex event platform to Drupal on Acquia Cloud, without starting from scratch.
We reused what was proven. We re-architected what was necessary.
And we launched a feature-rich MVP that worked now, while being built to scale.
This isn’t a case study. It’s a repeatable playbook for digital leaders who want to move fast without breaking everything.
The platform in question served as the digital hub for a global running event series. But like many legacy systems, it had hit its ceiling:
The goal?
Migrate to Drupal on Acquia Cloud, launch a modern MVP, and keep pace with the brand’s busy global event calendar.
But the challenge wasn’t just technical.
The site needed to serve diverse stakeholders, runners, volunteers, partners, sponsors, marketing teams, and it had to integrate with more than a dozen external systems.
That’s when we made a key architectural decision:
We had access to a successful platform implementation built on Drupal and Acquia Site Studio. It powered another high-performance event brand with similar user needs, registration flows, community features, training content, sponsor pages, and multilingual support.
Instead of rebuilding, we chose to reuse its architectural backbone.
Here’s how we adapted it to this new context:
We reused core Site Studio components, layout helpers, registration templates, event cards, course maps, and applied brand-specific theming on top.
We retained the layout grid and page architecture, but reskinned it to reflect the running brand’s entertainment-first tone: music, crowds, and community.
We focused on critical flows: event registration, content engagement, live tracking, volunteer signup, and participant dashboards, while deprioritizing edge features for post-launch phases.
We structured Drupal content types and roles so marketing, regional managers, and event coordinators could work without blocking each other.
We delivered the MVP in structured phases, each solving a specific problem:
Problem: Event pages were inconsistent, hard to edit, and not mobile-first.
Solution: We implemented a consistent event template across the platform, driven by reusable Site Studio components. This included:
Each event page could now be launched and updated with editor-level permissions, with no need for dev intervention.
Problem: Data and workflows lived across disconnected services, causing delays, inconsistency, and security gaps.
Solution: We integrated 15+ external systems into Drupal via API or iframe, including:
All data pipelines were secured and aligned to GDPR/CCPA, with content mapped to user roles and access levels.
Problem: Content was scattered, inconsistent, and hard to migrate from legacy CMS systems.
Solution: We performed a detailed audit, built mapping strategies, and migrated all essential content into Drupal, standardized for Site Studio use. Teams received training on:
Problem: Every event had unique needs, but the platform couldn’t handle customizations without fragmenting the system.
Solution: We reused foundational components, but extended them with brand-safe logic:
The result? A platform that looked bespoke, but behaved like a governed system.
And most importantly? The brand didn’t have to trade speed for quality.
It got both, because the architecture was designed with reuse in mind.
Below are key takeaways for digital leaders shaping next-gen platforms:
Smart reuse doesn’t mean compromise. It means moving faster by building on what already works, especially when the users and structures are familiar.
Site Studio, when used with discipline, can enable fast iteration and brand-safe flexibility. But only if governance and reuse are intentional.
This wasn't just a CMS switch. It was a transformation in how events were marketed, how teams collaborated, and how integrations aligned.
If you’re building your first version of a DXP, design it for replication. The return on investment shows up the moment you need to scale or pivot.
Too many digital teams treat migration as a clean slate.
They throw away systems that worked. They rebuild platforms that just needed refinement.
And they lose time, time they didn’t have to spare.
But here's what we’ve learned:
The fastest, smartest way forward isn’t a blank canvas. It’s a strategic reuse of what’s already proven.
If your platform:
Then a component-first architecture, with governance baked in, could cut months off your timeline.
Let’s make that happen, together.