Nomination Drupal Association board at large
I decided that after 17 years in the community it is time to send in a nomination: https://www.drupal.org/elections2024
Here the nomiation email which explains why:
Who are you? (biography/background)
Please include your Drupal.org username
Here you can find who I am and my story:
Please ensure that the information on your Drupal.org profile is up-to-date with accurate details about your current workplace and community involvement
In short:
I’m a person that is passionate about and expert in:
- Drupal and open source (Mautic, Unomi, ...)
- Product & Commercial development: Product & go to market strategy
- Entrepreneurship
Why are you running for a board seat at the Drupal Association? (mission/motivation)
I want Drupal and the open web ecosystem to flourish. I believe the key for Drupal to flourish is to join forces with other projects in the open web ecosystem to become more than a CMS.
Why do I think that?
I believe CMS markets have become very crowded, a red ocean. Making an enterprise grade open source CMS like Drupal stand out as the best in its class is key to be selected by customers. Especially in the small and midsize enterprise market (companies from 10M turnover to 500M turnover) Drupal is competing with many other proprietary CMS systems. In order to win, Drupal has to be more than just an open source CMS.
Making Drupal competitive beyond being technically strong is mandatory. Drupal needs marketing that shows its capabilities and return on investment for the SME market. It needs to show more than what it does for the big logos. Drupal needs to show what it can do for the many many organisations that have smaller budgets (50k-500k) than the big enterprises (with +500k/y budgets.)
I also believe Drupal can differentiate itself by becoming a part of the open DXP. By building strong bridges with other open source ecosystems like Mautic (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_lz-nQciuY) and Unomi this is possible.
I see how making Drupal deeply connected with other open source platforms might increase its potential for adoption as open DXP or part of it increase its chances. Customers are looking for more than a CMS, especially midmarket where they want a fully working packaged solution to cover all needs, not just content management.
An example on how I have educated the community with new ideas on how to package Drupal in new ways like the open DXP dates as far back as 2019:
Why am I running?
I believe my advice can help the DA make better decisions in how to market Drupal to the midmarket and to bring Drupal to market as a part of the DXP. This will bring opportunities to the community at large to innovate. With more projects and challenges to solve, innovation will be driven by all that demand.
As an entrepreneur in both Drupal services and Drupal based DXP in the midmarket with Dropsolid, I believe I have a unique view on the market and what is needed. With this advice the DA will know what the majority of the customers in this segment want.
Why should members vote for you? (qualifications)
Qualifications:
- Having been a contributing drupal developer who started a company 11 years ago that provides both a platform to run drupal together with other open source components like Mautic and Unomi (https://dropsolid.io/) and a service company that delivers all the services needed to build a great open digital experience (https://dropsolid.com/en) in the small and midsize enterprise segment, I have unique view on the market where Drupal has an enormous potential to grow.
- I have been both Ceo and Cto of this company responsible for finding a product/service market fit. I have extensive experience in marketing, sales and technology.
- Dropsolid also grew from 2 to 80 people in 7 years. I know how to find opportunities for growth in a pragmatic way. For example, we grew Dropsolid as a product and service company without venture capital. And we succeeded in staying independent and true to the Open DXP vision we had all along.
- I'm also part of the Mautic council where I council on sales, partnerships, marketing, product strategy and financial management. (https://www.mautic.org/mautic-council/dominique-de-cooman)
Why should you vote on me?
I will bring valuable insights to the Drupal association and allow them to make better decisions on how to bring Drupal to market. I can advise the DA on how to sell and market Drupal in the small and midsize enterprise segment. This will fuel Drupal's growth and the overall open source ecosystem with new business, allowing Drupal to further grow and produce the differentiating capabilities to win from this increasing competition.
The Drupal community is a very tech driven community and therefore I think having commercial and entrepreneurial representation in the board is crucial to keep Drupal connected with what customers of the largest segment (midmarket) want.
I’m a developer who turned into an entrepreneur/marketer/sales and I do know how to make Drupal and DXP appeal to midmarket customers. This might not at first appeal to the more tech driven members of the community but remember that selling creates opportunities for the technical community to innovate.
I’m also not here because Dropsolid is in this market but because I want to share insights like I have done many times in the past. Even to competitors. The idea has always been to make the Drupal pie bigger and grow the open web ecosystem by creating bridges between open source projects, so we all win.
In short:
Vote on me to bring market feedback in advice to the DA on:
1. Expanding Drupal in the SME market.
2. By building bridges with other open source ecosystems.
3. By creating new opportunities to package and sell Drupal like for example as part of the open DXP
Innovation + Sales & Marketing = long term success for Drupal
May Drupal and the open web ecosystem flourish.
Are you a member of the Drupal Association?
Yes.
Are you willing and able to attend an open forum with the community on 14 August at either 09:00 UTC or 17:00 UTC?
I suppose this remote? So yes. If it is in person, where is it?
Are you willing and able to travel to in-person board meetings?
Yes.
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