Surprisingly good uses for Drupal

OK, this should not be surprising - of course an enterprise-grade CMS build for extensibility should absolutely rock at connecting data! Yet Drupal is often overlooked.

With its huge collection of ready-to-roll modules covering most bases, and an API-first core codebase ready to support further development, Drupal is all set for handling all your analytics and CRM needs. All while also handling your data protection and compliance needs, too. And because it’s open-source, you retain full ownership and control over how that data is handled and integrated.

People have been building some gorgeous online content lately, and the right design & build team should be able to put all those elements at your fingertips for rapid page builds that grab attention and drive conversions. Content personalisation is the next logical step, and Drupal's powerful systems are ready for your custom build to leverage the data sources you have available.

Don't just stick their name at the top of the page - build fully customised content for them! Smart use of conditional logic and component-based design means every user journey can feel tailored, without slowing down your team. Load up their profile from your CRM and get their logo, CTAs for next steps, support ticket updates. Heck, open up a chat bot to talk about their latest results!? So much is possible.

Supply your web or mobile app with data created and managed in Drupal - its headless capabilities make it an ideal central hub for omnichannel digital experiences. Fast, clear admin UI's are one of Drupal's strengths, and with data and page responses cached by default, it performs well straight out of the box. 

Data entry and management is easy when powered by the flexible UI builder, and faster still when automations are introduced.

Many businesses are paying hundreds or even thousands of pounds a month for asset managers that they don't actually use. Many Drupal sites simply use Drupal's inbuilt Media Library to serve most of their media needs as it covers storage, processing and resizing, metadata and external API availability all out of the box. Since it's fully integrated, there's no need to juggle separate systems or workflows.

With so much already covered, it's only a small extension to pull and use that Media from elsewhere - essentially using that Drupal site as a DAM!

Need to store your product data somewhere easily accessible for both editors and API consumers? Join the many taking advantage of Drupal's excellent administrative UI and data flexibility, and build your Product Information Database/Manager in Drupal! You can tailor the data structure precisely to your product catalog and business needs.

Most importantly, you could save thousands of pounds compared to large PID/PIM subscription plans.

As two-factor authentication finally gets wide adoption, we've seen growth in the use of federated authentication platforms and centralised login hubs. Many are provided at notable cost by large software providers, yet theoretically the mechanics aren't that complicated.

With a selection of modules supporting such functionalities, an increasing number of organisations are turning to Drupal to host these services. If you have one Drupal site, it costs little more to kick off and run another - so for a small initial investment you can set up a platform that saves you from another ongoing subscription.