The state of Drupal as a Web Application & Product Platform

While Drupal is usually thought of in terms of Web Sites, many companies and Drupal shops are using the framework to build Web Applications/Products. This panel will look at some of the Products being built on Drupal and will discuss the potential business benefits of building a Web Application on Drupal, from the perspective of Drupal Shops looking to expand beyond a strictly service based business as well as from the vantage point of businesses who are looking for a platform to build their Products with.

Some of the Products/Applications that will be examined include:

• Flat World Knowledge - an Open Source, College Textbook Publishing company that was prototyped and largely built by Zivtech
• Open Atrium - an "intranet in a box" developed by Development Seed
• Managing News - an "RSS/Atom based news tracker with search, republishing and mapping" capabilities, also developed by Development Seed
• Drupal Gardens - a hosted Drupal service aimed at designers, non-developers, and Drupal "newbies," (amongst others) created by Acquia
• Mercury - "a drop-in replacement for your Drupal website hosting service that delivers break-through performance," developed by Chapter Three
• Open Publish - a packaged Drupal distribution "tailored to the needs of today's online publishers," developed by Phase 2 Technology