Lightning OpenEDU - The D8 distribution for Higher Ed

In this panel, Acquia and ImageX would like to share the story of “Lightning OpenEDU,” an open-source Drupal 8 framework designed to accelerate the process of building higher-education websites. We will cover a broad range of topics, including (but not limited to) the collective market research that lead Acquia and ImageX to partner on this initiative, the joint product roadmap, how the project is being funded, the architectural approach and go-to market strategy.

• Market Research: Over 30 Acquia & ImageX higher education clients provided feedback on what they were looking for before they moving to Drupal 8. Learn how this feedback shaped the project.
• Product Roadmap: Integrations, scalability and architectural approach to meeting a diverse range of organizational sizes.
• Funding: Using government grants and a lean go-to market strategy, ImageX was able to secure over $400,000 in funding for the initiative.
• Go-to Market: How an open-source distribution generates and helps secure new business, using Acquia’s Lightning and and ImageX’s OpenEDU as case studies

Attendees from higher-education institutions can expect to learn what feature set will be available and when, and how the product lines up with varying organizational structures. Attendees interested in launching their own distributions will learn about best practices, pitfalls to avoid, securing 3rd party funding and how to take the product to market.

Target Audience: Anyone who works with higher-education websites, including webmasters, marketers and developers. Also a useful track for any organization looking to release a D8 distro. All experience levels will find useful information in this session.