The strength of open source CMS has got yet another boost. Announced not to long ago is the new web design for the White House. What CMS is powering such a site? None other than Drupal.
The strength of open source CMS has got yet another boost. Announced not to long ago is the new web design for the White House. What CMS is powering such a site? None other than Drupal. With the switch what do they want to accomplish? Well according to Macon Phillips, “to get more and more voices on the site.” He also went on to note that, “"This is state-of-the-art technology and the government is a participant in it."
Now it may be risky business for the White House to trend into open source waters from a security standpoint they, experts in and outside the government, argued that community collaborations toward security is the main advantage that open source has over having an house security team.
It will be a much faster way to change the programming behind the Web site. When the model was owned solely by the government, federal contractors would have to work through the reams of code to troubleshoot it or upgrade it. Now, it can be done in the matter of days and free to taxpayers.
It's also a nod to Obama's pledge to make government more open and transparent. Aides joked that it doesn't get more transparent than showing the world a code that their Web site is based on.
Under the open-source model, thousands of people pick it apart simultaneously and increase security. It comes more cheaply than computer coding designed for a single client, such as the Executive Office of the President. It gives programmers around the world a chance to offer upgrades, additions or tweaks to existing programs that the White House could — or could not — include in daily updates.
So why Drupal? Phillips states, "The platform that they're moving to is just something to hang other things on," he said. "They need to keep up-to-date with the latest security patches."