In traditional web hosting, the hosting charge increases as the site or application traffic increases. Hosting companies take two variables into account - page traffic & the computing power needed. Most of the time when the site is content-driven, users are just reading the content. Only a small portion of users provide feedback by comments or in other forms that consume bandwidth of the server. So, we might not need the same level of increase in computing power compared to the increase in traffic.

But if we are using an enterprise application like Drupal, where traditional deployment architecture is used, we might require additional computing power as the traffic increases. Since hosting companies keep their pricing based on the number of page views or number of hits received by server or computing power (CPU+RAM) required to serve the traffic, hosting cost increases proportionally. In the case of one of our clients, the charges increased from $100 to $1,000 per month within a year, and it could again go up further. This puts a substantial financial burden on firms where revenue is not a direct function of page traffic.

Where to use AWS Lambda in Serverless Architecture

Consider the example where the users upload a video file into your Drupal site and the system creates a thumbnail for preview purpose. But many times, users log in to the site just to browse. So, it is a wastage of resources to keep your web server like apache waiting for the trigger event to happen so that it can execute the response action.

AWS Lambda is a solution to overcome this challenge. In this method, the code for executing the action, like creating the preview, is kept in a file. It is executed only when a trigger event happens, like the uploading of the video. Billing is only for the resources the program uses and the time taken. In effect, the server is nonexistent until the user needs it and hence it is called serverless computing or FaaS, function as a service.

Server tasks can be divided into smaller functions. Only a few of these functions need to execute code blocks. Lambda is a service that allows you to execute code without the need to manage servers. Lambda takes care of running code as a response to triggers like events, Http requests, or API calls. 

It manages the varying computing capabilities needed for different functions, and the number of users using the function resulting in smooth scalability. When we implement lambda in a Drupal site, it helps us in faster and efficient execution of functionalities like localization, personalization and content processing, etc.

Using AWS Lambda functions, we have seen a reduction in server cost by up to 70% without any compromise on performance.   

Basic implementation process to deploy Drupal with AWS Lambda

• We hosted the client’s Drupal website on an Elastic Load Balancer(ELB) 
• All the static assets were uploaded into a S3 bucket, instead of serving from drupal origin itself. S3 is the low-cost file storage service which can significantly reduce the EC2 storage size.
• Implemented a CloudFront distribution along with multiple lambda functions to distribute our dynamic and static content.
• Then the CloudFront interacts with the end-users for data exchange. 

From Monolith to Serverless microservices

Benefits of Serverless architecture

• Lower costs - Compared to traditional hosting, serverless saves the cost for the user as he doesn't have to pay for unused CPU time
• Simplified scalability - There is no need to set elaborate policies for scaling in serverless, as scaling can be handled on-demand.  
• Simplified backend code - In FaaS, we can create separate functions for specific tasks like making an API call. 
• Quicker turnaround - The time to market is much lower for serverless architecture due to the simpler deployment process to introduce new features and bug fixes.

The Challenges

We learned that serverless architecture can help us scaling without increasing the cost proportionately. But we should be aware of certain challenges in comparison to other Pass platforms we have been using, where the only thing we have to worry about is building our applications. A few points we need to keep in mind are -

• The technical team should be self-sufficient to handle the troubleshooting and security aspects of the application
•  We need to build our own deployment system, along with CI-CD tool to track and update multiple functions

Going Forward

Serverless architecture helps in increasing efficiency by using the principles of lean management and modularity. It is not a magic wand that will solve all your issues, but it puts your business in a better position to take advantage of technology. In the coming years, we can expect a lot of advancements in this field. The serverless architecture will witness wider adoption, due to the benefits of cost savings and scalability. 

Get in touch with us if you would like to know more about how your business can implement and benefit from Serverless & Cloud technology.

 

In the business world, mistakes are costly whether they happen in accounting, customer service, or advertising. But, when it comes to cybersecurity, even small mistakes or instances of overlooking have the potential to cause enormous damage to your business. Here is a list of mistakes committed by businesses in the past that were exploited by cybercriminals.

1. Forgetting the basics.

Citrix is a firm working in the security industry known for building VPNs for clients. It recently had a major security breach that was undetected for 5 months. The hackers had used the Password spraying method where a few common passwords are randomly tried at scale. This mode of attack works because many users have weak passwords that are easier to guess. 

Companies often invest in the latest technology but forget to ensure that basic safety practices are followed. Cyber hygiene practices like strong passwords and multifactor authentication provide the first line of defense against hackers. All the important data should be encrypted and the encryption keys should be kept separately. Employees should be made aware of the phishing attempts to gain user credentials.
             
2. Neglecting the vendor security systems

A recent study found that almost half of the data breaches are indirect, through channel partners and third-party vendors. A classic example is the Target breach in 2013 where personal and financial details of 110 million users were stolen. The hackers entered the system using the user credentials stolen from Fazio mechanical services which were providing HVAC services to Target. A company has limited control over the vendors and service providers. Hence, the supply chain is the weak link that becomes the preferred target of cybercriminals. 

While selecting partners and vendors, check whether there is any security-related incident in the past. Clearly convey your security requirements to the prospective partners and check their incidence-response abilities. To ensure secure cooperation with partners, a firm needs to segment its network and place strong access controls. Third parties need to access relevant data and processes, but they should be kept away from other core domains like payments. Sharing security-related Information and providing training to the staff of partner firms will help minimize the risk.

3. Not paying enough attention to securing Smart Devices 
                     
Users of Amazon Ring Home security camera systems raised several complaints about hackers accessing their devices. Security experts have demonstrated that smart devices like a TV or an air conditioner can be an easy target for hackers to get access. A recent study found that attacks on IoT devices have tripled in the last year and 99.9% of these were automated - using a bot, script, or malware. One major reason behind the breaches is the weak authentication of users.

It is important to remove unnecessary devices from the network and delete the old and unused apps. Change the default usernames, passwords, and settings. Use strong passwords and change them regularly. Do the research and check the reviews before purchasing devices. When you are selecting apps, read the privacy policy, and understand how they are going to use information gathered from users. 

4. Leaving the default credentials in applications
 
In the year 2017, the personal data of 14million Verizon users were compromised, including their contact information and account PIN numbers. The massive data leak happened due to the misconfiguration of an AWS server and the basic setting of access control was missing. These types of issues can happen because of a configuration that is the default, incomplete or temporary. Applications that were used in the initial production stages also might be present as a vulnerability.

Information systems have become complex with modern frameworks, hybrid data centers, Cloud storage, emerging technologies, and applications. Detailed mapping of the system is needed to track the processes and information flow. Better visibility will help to identify the unexpected behaviors of applications and to remove the ones which are no longer needed. A periodic audit by an expert team is crucial to minimize the risk because the systems are evolving continuously.

5. Missing patches and updates

Equifax is one of the largest credit reporting agencies in the world and it reported a massive breach in 2017 in which the private data of around 145 million users were compromised. Now, Equifax is set to pay consumers up to $700mn for damages. Later investigations found out that the data leak could have been prevented if they used a patch that was available for months. 

A Patch or a fix is a minor change made to the code to prevent a bug or vulnerability. The development team won't be able to foresee all the possible threats in the initial phase, and they release patches and other updates as vulnerabilities or bugs show up. It is the duty of the cybersecurity team to make sure that all the applications and software are updated to the latest versions.  

Conclusion

Avoiding these common pitfalls will reduce the risk of cyber threats and will keep your organization in a good position to counter the evolving tactics of cybercriminals. At Valuebound, we work with organizations to help them in securing their digital platforms, with a holistic approach. Do connect with us if you would like to know more about how we are helping our clients.
 

The world is facing a rising tide of cyber-attacks and one of the recent victims is San Francisco Airport. Small and medium-sized organizations often feel safe due to the wrong notion that hackers target mainly big businesses. What is the cost of being the victim of an attack? It results in the loss of Data, Money, Time, Clients, Reputation, etc. According to the National Cyber Security Alliance, around 60% of small businesses close operations within 6 months of being the target of cyberattack or data breach.

Chief Information Security officers (CISO) and the cybersecurity teams are fighting a tough battle during the corona crisis. Their situation is similar to those army leaders in the medieval times, trying to protect their forts from the attacking bandits, knowing that a small mistake or loophole can ruin the entire effort.

The defense strategy against cyber-attacks needs to be similar to the one we are using against coronavirus. We need a two-tier approach where institutions and experts lay out the strategic plans and enforce the procedures, while individuals need to strictly follow the security practices in their daily activities.

Individual Digital Hygiene 

• Use strong passwords and avoid the use of the same password for multiple accounts.
• Beware of emails from unknown ids and avoid clicking on links. To visit the website in the link, type the website name in the address bar. 
• Phishing emails and Social engineering ploys can be normally identified by poor grammar, emotive language, attempt to create urgency, requesting personal information, etc.
• To avoid the risk in Unsecured Data Transmissions, Use encrypted mediums like Signal or Wire to share critical information like passwords.
• Use only trusted sources like the World Health Organization, websites of TV channels or Newspapers to get information or updates on Covid19. New websites providing Corona information often have very weak security measures.
• Separate work and entertainment. Minimize the usage of personal devices for work purposes and avoid using work laptops for leisure. 
• Look out for early signs of a breach - a slowdown, appearance of new pop-ups or programs, some functions not working properly, etc.
• Report issues to the IT team or the concerned person at the earliest. A stitch in time saves a lot.

Organizational Strategies

• Educate all the verticals like finance and HR about the importance of allocating resources for Cybersecurity.
• If your organization lacks a dedicated security team, bring in external experts to review your system and to identify vulnerabilities.
• Update the security software and back up all the valuable data. Shift to better technologies and platforms which are secure by design
• Create a security strategy, and procedures and provide virtual training to all the team members. Discuss case studies of security breaches in the past to identify common pitfalls.
• Develop a graded approach where critical resources and processes are protected as the highest priority.
• Have predetermined alternate channels of communications among leaders and departments in case of an attack.
• Conduct Drills and simulations of emergency situations to test your contingency plans and resilience.
• Be careful in granting access rights to remote users and use multifactor authentication 
• Select your partners carefully because many attacks are indirect in nature, through a weak link in the supply chain like a vendor.
• Avoid a culture of blame, so that employees feel comfortable to report any issue or mistake as and when it happens.
• If the assets are of high value, consider cyber insurance which can cover the cost for the direct damages and the indirect losses.

Foolproof cybersecurity and regular monitoring is the need of the hour for any organization. As hackers are continuously changing their tactics, we also need to continuously improve our security systems to match the challenge. And what they say about health is true for security too. Prevention is better than cure.

At Valuebound, we work with organizations to help them in securing their digital platforms holistically, starting from taking care of best security practices during initial development to taking security measures after the platform is hosted on the webserver. Do connect with us if you would like to have a conversation about how we are helping our clients.

While Covid-19 is creating havoc across the globe, there is another lesser-known danger present in the scenario - cybercrimes. There has been an increase in the number of cyberattacks recently. Individuals, hospitals, labs, companies, governmental and non-governmental organizations are all targeted in this rising wave of attacks. 

Brno University hospital, the second-largest in the Czech Republic suffered a major cyberattack in March, and critical procedures including surgeries had to be canceled. Even the World Health Organization, which is at the center of Corona response, was the target of multiple unsuccessful attacks. Google has asked its employees not to use the Zoom app on their laptops due to security concerns.

The social situation created by Covid-19 is proving to be conducive for cyberattacks, resulting in one of the largest ever security challenges in history. What are the factors that make the current situation more vulnerable?

a) Work from Home - The major reason for the scale of this challenge is the millions of employees who have shifted to remote working environments. The firewall protection offered by the security network in the offices is missing, and on many occasions, personal devices are also used. Companies didn't have the time to plan remote working strategies on such a large scale.

b) Online Time - Under lockdown situations, people are spending much more time on the internet and devices for working, learning, entertainment, interactions, etc and it creates a higher chance to make mistakes. 

c) System burnout -- Our health and other public systems are working on a war footing and completely caught up with handling the Corona situation. It reduces their ability to defend or respond to security threats.

d) Stress and Anxiety -  The danger present in the situation and the uncertainty about the future makes people prone to making mistakes and irrational decisions.

e) First time Users - In the absence of regular shopping and entertainment options, many are trying online commerce, payments, and classes for the first time. These individuals, who are not familiar with the processes, are soft targets for hackers.
 
Hackers are using every trick in the book to obtain private data and to intrude into systems. Other than the normal phishing attempts, hidden malware is spread through Documents and messages with Corona information and updates.

Social engineering ploys are used where the hackers pose like the authorities or institutions for manipulation. Ransomware was used several times against healthcare institutions across Europe. In a ransomware attack, the hacker gets into the system, encrypts the data making it inaccessible, and asks for a ransom payment for the decryption

In our personal lives, we know how to safeguard our private data and financial transactions. But, in the new world where Remote working is widely adopted, we need to be much more careful about protecting all the work-related networks and systems including web platforms, intranet, extranet, and client portals. The security teams also need to take a proactive approach by testing their existing protocols and making contingency plans. 
 

World war 3 is happening. For a change, humans are not fighting against each other.  The entire human race is fighting against the novel coronavirus that has spread to more than 175 countries. The world is in a standstill and there is nothing in modern history to compare the situation with. Even though this is an evolving black-swan event, let us have a look at how COVID 19 is changing our lives, and what businesses can do to deal with the situation.

People 

In many countries, people are going through a lockdown period and getting adjusted to a new way of life. Healthcare professionals are risking their lives for the rest of us while a few others are sabotaging the fight by spreading fake news on social media. The initial anxiety was displayed in the empty racks in supermarkets and social media posts.

As the days went by, many started using the unexpected sabbatical to follow some creative pursuits and connecting through video calls. The quiet atmosphere and free time, along with the danger present in the situation is making many contemplate and reassess their lives and priorities.

Business 

From an industry perspective, parallels are already drawn with the great depression of the 1930s and the lockdown situation during the second world war. Stock markets have plummeted, businesses are shuttered, millions of job losses are expected. In industries like Aviation, tourism, hospitality, transportation, retail, etc, the revenues have dried up almost completely, compared to the partial declines in the past recessions. The global supply chain is broken at multiple points and the time difference among different countries in the spread of the disease makes it more complex. 

Online streaming and educational firms are seeing a boost in their usage. Companies working in healthcare and medical equipment are also seeing a rapid increase in demand for their products. Sectors like IT are holding up with remote working options while some players in the restaurant industry are trying to survive on takeaway business. 

Going Forward

If your business is struggling for survival, perform multiple forecasts and have different cost-cutting measures to match the various probable scenarios. It will help you to avoid panic and make data-driven decisions. You can use industry forums to collectively negotiate with the government or vendors for aid, extended payment dates, etc. Even though your business processes are not functioning normally, use social media accounts to be in constant touch with your customers.

If immediate survival is not your concern, this is the time to lay the foundation for the long term strategy and competitiveness of your business. If you are having downtime, focus on skill-building of your team and finishing of the pending tasks. Assign a dedicated team to drive these new projects. Be supportive to your customers in all possible ways and take part in the community efforts to fight the issues that the disease has brought. Develop a consistent and transparent communication strategy with periodic updates for all the stakeholders.

In the future, there can be pent up need for products, although discretionary and luxury spending might take time to rise. The corporate world would give preference to virtual meetings to save time and travel costs. The decision by the learning firm O’Reilly to close its business unit for in-person live conferences can be seen as an indication for the future. Tools and Technologies facilitating remote working will see higher demand in the industry. We can expect emerging technologies to play a major role in the healthcare industry in identifying potential risks and in formulating solutions.

The post corona world will see new customer requirements and expectations. It is an opportunity to be innovative and implement a Blue ocean strategy to gain the first-mover advantage in a new segment.

China is showing signs of recovery, giving hope to the rest of the world that normalcy can be restored in a few months. As we go through these testing times, let us keep a quote in mind from American author David J.Schwartz -  "Action cures fear".

In recent years, one of the most discussed concepts in the corporate world by the apostles of change is Digital Transformation. It is the process of redesigning and digitalizing the business model, to make it more competitive in the market, and to improve the value proposition for customers. 

Most of the companies are either at some stage in the transformation process or contemplating it. The global spending on Digital Transformation is projected to touch $2.3 Trillion by the year 2023. But, most majority of these attempts fail, resulting in the wastage of valuable human resources and billions of dollars. There are ways that will help your business avoid the common pitfalls and successfully implement a transformation process.

Power of Why

In the book Start with Why, author Simon Sinek makes the case for the importance of purpose in the functioning of a business. Many businesses face issues at the implementation stage of digital transformation due to a lack of clarity about the purpose and necessity. Leadership should have a clear vision of where they want to take the business. A strong why makes it a lot easier to figure out the ‘what’ and ‘how’. 
‘Our competitors are doing it’ wouldn’t qualify as a solid primary reason for your business to undergo this major overhaul. 

Implementation Roadmap 

Success in any major project relies on your ability to convert your aspirations and ideas into a concrete plan of action. The next step is to make a digital transformation roadmap with clear objectives, milestones, and metrics to measure progress. Keep early milestones to create momentum in the team.

This is the stage where different opinions and priorities among different departments and top executives merge to form the most effective plan. Assigning ownership and responsibilities to various individuals and teams will help maximize the RODI (Return on Digital Investment). You also need to look into the past projects to estimate the project management capabilities of your organization and plan for additional resources if needed.

Business transformation 

Companies like Airbnb, Uber, and Amazon have demonstrated the impact of Disruptive Innovation and emerging technologies like Cloud, AI, Blockchain, Big Data, etc are widely adopted to increase business capabilities. Digital transformation is not meant for small incremental changes or cost-cutting. It redefines all areas of the business model at a deep and fundamental level.

In essence, it is a business transformation with the help of technology. You should use technology as a tool for change, an enabler. So, ignore the hype and noise in the market about new technologies and trends, and select a technology only if it makes sense and fits with your business goals. The transformation efforts should not ruin your core strengths or existing position as a business but build on it. It is like renovating a restaurant while it is running.

Get everyone on Board

In 2014, Automaker Ford made a failed attempt to digitize its business by creating a new section. The reason for the failure was the inability to integrate the digitization efforts with the entire business. 
Many employees think that Digital Transformation is the responsibility of the IT department.

Senior executives might have resistance to the process due to insecurity about the loss of authority or rigidity due to decades of conventional working style. Orientation sessions are needed to educate why this transformation is crucial and how it can benefit the business. All the concerns and doubts should be addressed and cleared at the very beginning of the project.

Innovation Platform and learning culture - 

More than the adoption of new technology, digital transformation needs a change in culture and a fixed mindset. Learning the new trends and innovating has to be ingrained in the DNA of the business. A dedicated innovation team can drive this process of collaboration and sharing knowledge.

This team needs to have a much broader scope than the R&D section and ideally, it should have members from various functions of the business to have a holistic view of the entire value chain. Sometimes, expert consultants might be needed to fill the skill gap. One of the important objectives is to create a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) faster and do the necessary iterations quickly. 

Big Picture

Many successful pilot projects fail at the stage of scaling. So, scalability is a crucial factor to be considered from the very start of the innovation process.

In today’s interconnected world, Industry boundaries are blurring and major companies in tech, financial services, retail, etc are venturing into new fields in the ecosystem. One risk in this scenario is developing a tunnel view and being obsessed with your own business, competitors. It is crucial to have a broader outlook on the industry and the latest developments.

Conclusion 

The competition in the business world is moving towards the pattern of ‘Winner takes it all’. The ability to adapt fast based on the changing circumstances is a crucial survival skill. So, don’t consider Digital transformation as a one time project. Keep it as a continuous process of improvement, building on the past gains, and rooted in a strong technological and cultural foundation.

Drupal is part of many successful Digital Transformation initiatives like the Commonwealth of Massachusetts which has become a single face of government or Pfizer, where the global digital marketing platform is being used in 46+ countries.

At Valuebound, we have partnered with many successful brands in their digital transformation journey using Drupal as well as other open systems. Do connect with us if you would like to discuss the possibility of using Drupal for the next adventure in your enterprise. 

Businesses are allocating a bigger share of their marketing budgets for digital marketing plans. Online marketing initiatives are more flexible and they have better capability to reach the target audience. They add value to the total marketing plan by making it more flexible and controlled. An array of Digital marketing services available in the market provides a level playing field for small businesses to compete with big players, without spending a fortune.

 One major challenge in the Digital world is that successful strategies will be adopted quickly by competing digital marketing companies. So, businesses need to be creative in their strategies and committed to a continual improvement process. 

The main pillar of today’s digital marketing strategy is content marketing. We operate in the attention economy and huge amounts of new content are created on a daily basis. So, it is of utmost importance to manage and make use of your content efficiently. Drupal is a proven Content management system that can help your business to be more flexible and effective in implementing digital marketing strategies. 

According to Dr. Dave Chaffey, author of  ‘Digital Marketing: Strategy, Implementation, and Practice’, there are 6 marketing trends that are going to impact the digital marketing strategies of today’s businesses. Let us see how Drupal is well-positioned to help your business ride the tide. 

Lifecycle marketing

The traditional sales process has undergone significant changes with the prominence of digitalization and the availability of multiple channels. But, the customer journey still encompasses stages of becoming aware, developing interest, comparing and analyzing, purchasing and usage. 
Multiple channels will be involved in this process.

For Eg, a customer might become aware of a gadget through an online Ad, might check the product out in a kiosk, clear doubts with a chatbot on the website, and order using a smartphone. The company has to ensure that all the engagements with the customer at different stages form a coherent and smooth flow, designed to delight. 

To create a consistent experience across the customer journey, we need a platform that can facilitate frictionless communication among various touchpoints. The API-first architecture of Drupal 8, also known as headless or decoupled architecture, allows it to be used as a central web service and interact with a variety of applications to exchange various types of data.

Conversational marketing

Businesses have been doing market research and gathering of customer data for long. Until now, factual information like demographic, age, income, spending, etc. constituted the major chunk of customer data. Still, Marketers did not know much about the motives of the customer or the mental factors affecting his decision making or purchase process. With the introduction of AI, companies are now able to have one on one conversion with customers via smart speakers like Alexa and Echo or through the various web or mobile applications like chatbots. It helps in understanding customer preferences and how marketers can fine-tune their offerings to match their expectations.

Drupal’s developer-friendly architecture, along with the availability of excellent Drupal programmers from one of the largest open source communities, ensures it can be integrated with many modern libraries like Google Assistant or IBM Watson to facilitate conversational interaction.

Insights-driven marketing

We have entered an Era of Data-driven marketing and every element of customer data is captured and analyzed to derive insights to improve the business process. Big Data makes it possible to process huge amounts of Data, to dig deep, and unravel patterns and trends about consumer behavior. Even the analytical tools have evolved over time and can help us better in connecting the dots. 

Acquia, an enterprise open DXP company provides a suite of products including Acquia Profile manager, Acquia Lift and the newly added open CDP, Mautic. These solutions, along with other enterprise products like Google Analytics, Google tag manager, Datalab, etc. help to utilize the power of Data and enable insights-driven marketing to keep up with today's market challenges.

Marketing technology

One of the fastest developing subdomains of Marketing vertical is Martech. Today’s marketer is equipped with an array of tools and technologies for competing in the digital battlefield. Automation is being widely used to free human resources from mundane and repetitive tasks. Tools and technologies are deployed to help in - Information exchanges, Promotion campaigns, email marketing, Search Engine Optimization, User Interface, e-commerce, Social media integration, and numerous other tasks. 

Drupal websites are built with interoperability as a key attribute and several marketing platforms that have dedicated Drupal modules can be easily plugged in. So, marketers can take advantage of multiple platforms simultaneously - for eg, Salesforce or Zoho for CRM, Mailchimp for email campaigns, Hubspot or Marketo for Automation.

Consumer privacy 

Customers are generally wary of sharing personal information, and the failure of Tech giants like Facebook to meet the expectations regarding security has made it worse. Today, there are growing concerns about the use of personal data, and governments across the globe are responding to this by formulating new regulations like the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) of the European Union or the latest CCPA (California Consumer Protection Act). Companies like British Airways and Marriott were issued millions of pounds of fine under GDPR for their inability to protect customer data. 

Drupal has understood the concerns and security goals of enterprises and is secure by design. Drupal has a whole security team and a suite of security modules like Encrypt, Key, Field Encryption to protect your system from breaches. Setting up Encryption in Drupal is very easy and thus it helps in protecting small and medium businesses that are normally considered easier targets for attack. 

Digital transformation and marketing transformation

Digital Transformation is the process of restructuring the existing business model to make it more relevant and competitive in the disruption economy. Businesses are adopting emerging technologies and trends like Cloud, AI, Big data, etc. Technology is helping companies for better collaboration among departments, proper monitoring of resource allocation, measuring the effectiveness of projects and initiatives, and faster change management
.

The modular nature of Drupal makes it possible to add only the relevant modules as and when required. It helps in optimizing the functionalities while keeping the system as lean as possible. The easy content creation, coupled with the multilingual capability to drive localization strategy, along with the ability to blend with other technologies make Drupal the ideal vehicle for your Digital Transformation initiatives.  

To sum it up, Digital Marketing shifted from being a separate team for enhancing reach to a collaborative effort among departments to create better experiences for users. Drupal is a preferred platform for Digital marketers because its robust system can scale up according to the increased needs of the market. At the same time, centralized administrative control of the entire system and advanced security features ensure peace of mind. 

Drupal is one of the best open platforms to help marketers to perfectly match the market requirements with business solutions. Get in touch with us to learn more about how Drupal can help your marketing strategies.

A few decades ago, companies were involved in the mass production of products and services with very limited options for customers to choose from. In the following years, increased competition and technological advancements resulted in the entire process being redefined with Customer Centricity as the core value.

In the digital world, websites and platforms have a huge amount of content and options available for users. The essence of Personalization is to provide the right content, at the right time, to the right person. Businesses like Amazon, Netflix, NewYork Times, etc have successfully used Personalization to create successful customer experience examples.

Acquia Lift

Acquia introduced a marketing solution named Lift in the year 2014. And the Drupal community has helped in fine-tuning it to its latest offering, version-4. Lift uses data to improve the experience for the user and it will result in increased engagement and loyalty. It is a user-friendly tool built for drupal which has the capability to do adaptive targeting. The capabilities and features that make Lift an effective Personalization tool is given below.

a) Profiling and Segmentation - Important User data like location, device type, content preference, etc are captured and analyzed. It helps to create different segments that can be targeted separately using different strategies. For Eg, users from various locations will be viewing different Hero banners that are most relevant for them.

b) Campaigns - Marketing runs on Campaigns and it is easy to create and execute campaigns using Acquia Lift. First, we need to set the objectives and goals for the campaign. A form of the campaign like A/B type, Recommendations or a combination is selected after that. Then the right segments are selected for targeting.

c) Advanced Features

• Point and Click - To make personalization easier, Lift has introduced a new form without code. So, technical knowledge is not a prerequisite for users to optimize the content.
• Scheduling- Creating a campaign and scheduling it for a future date or specific event is a feature of Lift that is very helpful when you need to create and run multiple campaigns
• Live data - Live User data is analyzed to fine-tune personalization and provide the most relevant content.
• Review - We can view all the active campaigns together and check how each campaign is performing in terms of click-through rate and conversion rate. It is presented in a visual format using graphs.

This video will help you in understanding how we can use Lift effectively for marketing initiatives. 

In today’s business world, there is no discussion on ‘whether to personalize or not?’. Personalization is not a luxury anymore. It is a necessity that businesses need for growth or even survival. Tools like Lift make sure that your content management system and the users blend in perfectly and thus adding value in the process.

It helps your business stay ahead of the curve and provide an omnichannel customer journey to create personalized digital experiences, building a pool of loyal customers. Do get in touch with us to know more about how Acquia Lift can help your business.

Traditionally, companies used to focus primarily on product designs and features. The underlying assumption was that the best product will automatically bring in the best results. Recently, businesses started developing a holistic view of the customer journey and decision-making process. So, detailed attention is given to Customer experience and how it can be enhanced at each stage. 

In today’s technology-driven world, there are too many entities vying for the customer's attention. Hence, to succeed in the digital world, you should understand the digital customer journey, and design each and every interaction with the customer in a way that results in the best overall digital experience for him.  Let’s examine how Drupal stacks up against the essential attributes of successful digital customer experience for your business. 

Performance Matters 

Nowadays, Customers have very high expectations about performance aspects like loading time, installation time, etc. 

They say it takes a village to raise a child. Similarly, it takes a vibrant community to grow an open-source technology. Drupal benefits from the contributions from the developers and enthusiasts across the globe who always look for ways to optimize the performance. It gives Drupal the capacity to work efficiently even when there is heavy traffic of users. 

Implementation of many performance tools like Redis, Varnish, Memcache or Bigpipe helps in smart caching and it ensures consistent page loading. A plethora of off the shelf CDN services integration options enables the availability of relevant assets based on the geographic location of the user. So, acclaimed companies like Tesla use Drupal for their website.

Feeling of Safety 

In the digital world, businesses gather a lot of data about the Users, directly and indirectly, including very private information, financial information, and proprietary information. And then, there is the constant issue of security threats in the form of phishing, cyber attacks, data leaks, etc. To succeed in gaining the trust of users, companies need to convince them that their privacy is protected with the utmost care.

The strength of a chain is its weakest link. 

Drupal has a dedicated security team of experts from different parts of the globe that focuses on resolving issues. Information about vulnerabilities and solutions are also made available to the community periodically.
Drupal’s security measures meet International standards like OWASP (The Open Web Application Security Project) and that is the reason why numerous Governmental websites like https://www.nasa.gov/ and   https://www.australia.gov.au/ trust Drupal.

Personalization

‘One size fits all’ doesn't work in today’s world where customers expect tailor-made solutions for their challenges. Personalization started initially with a few categories based on color, size, price, etc. Now, it has grown to a level where even minute preferences and concerns of customers are considered and a solution is designed specifically to meet those. Drupal has a robust framework that can manage the varying requirements of different websites and applications.

Acquia offers a new product named Acquia Lift, which is a fast and effective personalization tool. It has a no-code version which makes it easier to use, even for users with no technical background. Besides that, the vibrant Drupal Community has created thousands of contributed modules that help with very specific requirements. For eg, a Smart Content module can be used to deliver segmented content based on options like industry or your target user persona.

Ease of Use

An intuitive UI is needed for customers so that they are not affected by the heavy underlying processes. This requires a flexible system matching the demanding needs of new-age users. Headless Drupal with APIs allows you to work with any modern front end framework like AngularJS, ReactJS, VuJS, NextJS or even other Drupal websites.

Omnichannel

Customers interact with the system through various touchpoints in multiple channels. It is imperative that all the different channels like website, mobile, App, Kiosk, etc should provide consistent information, providing a smooth and enriching digital journey. 

This is especially important for companies engaged in e-commerce as the customer will be accessing information about the products and going through the purchase process through different channels. Drupal can act as the single source of Content which can be managed by various content managers and directed through various channels and touchpoints.  

A closer look makes it evident how the features of Drupal can help in improving the ROI, Customer Acquisition and Retention while being an Open-source platform. Get in touch with us to know more about how Drupal can help your business create spectacular digital experiences for customers.

In projects, there are multiple trigger points where emails have to be sent. In Drupal 7, we had the option where we could define a template and set up rules to trigger emails based on defined action.

But the rules module is still under active migration from D7 to D8, and we were short of time to complete the project.

So, we decided to create custom config entities for creating email templates. There was a need to have a configuration page where admin can add new templates having the subject field as well as text body. To help the admin user,  we had to list out all variables available on the same config page. In our case, since the list of trigger actions was pre-defined, we added them programmatically. These actions are available during the email template creation page.

The following steps show how we have implemented it.

Step 1 - Created a custom config entity ‘email_templates’ for the custom module ‘projectname_email_templates’ using the drupal console.

Steps to Generate a custom module using the drupal console:

drupal generate:module
// Welcome to the Drupal module generator
Enter the new module name:
> projectname_email_templates
Enter the module machine name [projectname_email_templates]:
>
Enter the module Path [modules/custom]:
>
Enter module description [My Awesome Module]:
> Module  for email templates
Enter package name [Custom]:
>
Enter Drupal Core version [8.x]:
>
Do you want to generate a .module file? (yes/no) [yes]:
> yes
Define module as feature (yes/no) [no]:
> no
Do you want to add a composer.json file to your module? (yes/no) [yes]:
> yes
Would you like to add module dependencies? (yes/no) [no]:
> no
Do you want to generate a unit test class? (yes/no) [yes]:
>
Do you want to generate a themeable template? (yes/no) [yes]:
> yes
Do you want proceed with the operation? (yes/no) [yes]:
> yes
// generate:composer
Generated or updated files
Generation path: /var/www/html/Drupal_proj/my_proj/web
1 - /modules/custom/projectname_email_templates/projectname_email_templates.info.yml
2 - /modules/custom/projectname_email_templates/projectname_email_templates.module
3 - /modules/custom/projectname_email_templates/tests/src/Functional/LoadTest.php
4 - /modules/custom/projectname_email_templates/projectname_email_templates.module
5 - /modules/custom/projectname_email_templates/templates/projectname-email-templates.html.twig
6 - modules/custom/projectname_email_templates/composer.json
Generated lines: 100

Steps to Generate custom config entity using the drupal console:

drupal generate:entity:config
// Welcome to the Drupal Config Entity generator
Enter the module name [address]:
> projectname_email_templates
Enter the class of your new config entity [DefaultEntity]:
> EmailTemplates
Enter the name of your new config entity [email_templates]:
>
Enter the label of your new config entity [Email templates]:
>
Enter the base-path for the config entity routes [/admin/structure]:
>
Generated or updated files
Generation path: /var/www/html/VB/horse-auction/web
1 - modules/custom/projectname_email_templates/config/schema/email_templates.schema.yml
2 - modules/custom/projectname_email_templates/projectname_email_templates.links.menu.yml
3 - modules/custom/projectname_email_templates/projectname_email_templates.links.action.yml
4 - modules/custom/projectname_email_templates/src/Entity/EmailTemplatesInterface.php
5 - modules/custom/projectname_email_templates/src/Entity/EmailTemplates.php
6 - modules/custom/projectname_email_templates/src/EmailTemplatesHtmlRouteProvider.php
7 - modules/custom/projectname_email_templates/src/Form/EmailTemplatesForm.php
8 - modules/custom/projectname_email_templates/src/Form/EmailTemplatesDeleteForm.php
9 - modules/custom/projectname_email_templates/src/EmailTemplatesListBuilder.php
Generated lines: 269

Step 2 - In email_templates.schema.yml (projectname_email_templates/config/schema): Define the variable and its type.

Step 3 - In EmailTemplates.php (projectname_email_templates/sec/Entity) : Define the template entities like entity_keys, config_prefix, admin_permission, links and email templates variables.

Step 4: In EmailTemplatesForm.php projectname_email_templates/src/Form/) we will be creating the required form elements.

Step 5: In the custom module file ‘projectname_email_templates.module’ define a hook_mail() to handle the various trigger points

Step 6: To send emails based on the trigger point, we are using plugin.manager.mail service.
 

Step 7: Drupal views do not support displaying custom config entities. So, In order to list all the email templates created, We are using a drupal custom page with a custom HTML table.

We have created a custom page by creating a route in projectname.routing.yml and creating a controller function 'emailTemplateList' in the AdminPagesController.php

Note: If you want to give access to other than Admin users, we need  Add, Edit, delete and view config entity. we need to give the permission -Administer site configuration (admin/people/permissions)

Get in touch with us to know more about how Drupal can help your in achieving your unique business requirements.