NYSE Takes Stock of Open Source CMS
Drupal and Acquia help NYSE manage their web presense
By Alan Shimel on Thu, 01/26/12 - 7:51am.
Few global organizations can match the size, scale and importance of NYSE Euronext. (NYX). The leading global operator of financial markets, NYSE Euronext's markets represent fully one third of the entire world's equities trading-and the company is a major player in derivatives and technology services. NYSE Euronext is in the S&P 500 index and Fortune 500.
With all of that of course goes tremendous responsibility for systems integrity and security. That is why it might surprise some to find out that NYSE Euronext has chosen the open source Drupal CMS platform for its forward facing web infrastructure.
I had a chance to speak with Bob Kerner, SVP and Chief Digital Officer of NYSE Euronext to discuss their use of an open source CMS. Bob has a long history in technology including a stint at AOL. When he came to NYX they had just gone through 2 cycles of trying to re-launch their web site which had over the years grown outdated.
Bob did a deep dive into what the goals of NYX were regarding a new web site, as well as reasons why the two previous effortsfell short of expectations.. He also took a long, hard look at what the available options were in the market. Kerner quickly surmised that NYX had to include an open source solution. After reviewing several of the leading open source CMS solution's (and there are some great ones), they selected Drupal. Kerner also chose Acquia, a leading consulting company with an expertise in Drupal to help his team with the site development
Kerner is a big believer in open source. When I asked him why he said, "I believe in the success of the open source model - when you get developers excited about building in open source they become really engaged in the environment. They want to reap the benefits of the community and solve problems within the community, and that helps out everyone."
That is as good an articulation of why to choose open source as I have heard. Kerner has laid out a multi-phase implementation approach that had them walking before they ran. At NYX even some of the smaller web sites can have thousands of pages. So first they did one site, then a second. With these accomplished in a relatively short time, Kerner was able to get the approval to move the entire NYX web infrastructure over to Drupal. However, again this will not be done overnight. It should keep Kerner, his team and the Acquia people busy for at least a while!
The good news is that once it is accomplished, keeping the sites up to date and fresh is much easier using a system like Drupal. Kerner says he does not regret his decision to move to Drupal at all. In fact if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, several large NY based organizations have decided to move to Drupal based on the success Kerner and his team have had at NYSE Euronext.
- About Open Source Fact and Fiction
As co-founder and Managing Partner at The CISO Group, Alan Shimel is responsible for driving the vision and mission of the company. The CISO Group offers security consulting and PCI compliance management for the payment card industry. Prior to The CISO Group, Alan was the Chief Strategy Officer at StillSecure. Shimel was the public persona of StillSecure as it grew from start up to helping defend some of the largest and most sensitive networks in the world.
Shimel is an often-cited personality in the technology community and is a sought-after speaker at industry and government conferences and events. His commentary about the state of security, open source and life is followed closely by many industry insiders via his blog and podcast, "Ashimmy, After All These Years" (www.ashimmy.com). Alan is now also a regular contributor to The CISO Group’s security.exe blog and podcast.
Alan has helped build several successful technology companies by combining a strong business background with a deep knowledge of technology. His legal background, long experience in the field, and New York street smarts combine to form a unique personality.
Disclosure: The CISO Group sells a software-as-a-service PCI compliance application called SAQPro. The company is independent and does not represent any other vendor's products as a reseller.
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