Drupal In White House

The White House Web site has caught a case of Drupal. The open-source software package helps people create and manage their Web sites. And this week, a new WhiteHouse.gov site arrived that had been built via the Drupal code.

Companies like Nike, Warner Bros. and Yahoo use Drupal for various parts of their Web sites. All told, close to 500,000 Drupal-based sites are on the Web, according to Thomas Erickson, the chief executive of Acquia.

To some, the White House shift to Drupal from a proprietary software package represented a serious seal of approval for open-source software.

“While open source is already widespread throughout the government, its adoption by the White House will almost certainly give permission for much wider uptake,” wrote Tim O’Reilly, who publishes books and holds conferences about open-source software.Like many open-source companies, Acquia sells service and support to back up the free Drupal. It claims about 300 customers, and “that number is doubling every quarter,”