Veolia /
Enterprise Drupal Site Factory Modernization With 200+ Multisites
Config Governance, Advanced Caching Strategy & Scalable Multi-Site Delivery Architecture
Veolia’s digital platform was operating at enterprise scale, powered by Drupal Site Factory with more than 200 regional and business-specific sites. The platform was highly integrated into the corporate ecosystem, supporting 40+ third-party integrations for business workflows, data synchronization, and regional operations — making modernization a high-risk initiative that required strict governance, stability, and predictable rollout strategies.
A modernization strategy was delivered to port the full Site Factory ecosystem from Drupal 7 to Drupal 8 and later evolve it further through Drupal 10. The work was executed in close collaboration with Veolia’s in-house development team, acting as an extension of their engineering capacity and helping accelerate both technical decision-making and implementation delivery.
In addition to platform modernization, major improvements were applied to system performance and configuration governance. Custom caching strategies were introduced to reduce page loading time by refactoring expensive data fetching flows. A brand-new configuration management approach was also delivered — enabling granular configuration updates through selective config merging, avoiding full overwrites across released sites and significantly improving operational stability.
Technologies
Drupal Site Factory
Drupal 7 → 8
Drupal 8 → 10
Acquia Site Factory Hosting
Enterprise Integrations (40+)
Advanced Caching Strategy
Configuration Management Extensions
Industry
Project State
Region
Teams Collaboration
- Veolia In-House Engineering Team
- Platform Governance & Operations Stakeholders
- Regional Editorial Teams Across 200+ Sites
- Integration Owners / External Vendors
[The Challenge]
Drupal Site Factory was running a large multisite ecosystem with more than 200 sites, each with regional requirements and content workflows. The platform was tightly connected to enterprise systems through 40+ integrations for job posts, operational feeds, business data synchronization, and regional services — creating strong dependencies across teams and systems.
Due to Drupal 7 end-of-life, modernization was required while preserving platform stability and the ability to deploy changes across hundreds of sites without disruption. Classic configuration deployment methods were risky at this scale, because full configuration overwrite would have caused regression risks and unwanted side effects on already released sites.
Performance challenges were also present due to expensive data fetching and integration-heavy pages. A new caching and delivery strategy was required to reduce loading times while keeping content accurate and keeping integrations stable.
[The Solution]
Site Factory Modernization Strategy
A strategy was developed to port the full Drupal 7 Site Factory ecosystem to Drupal 8 and ensure a stable path to Drupal 10 modernization.
Enterprise Multisite Delivery Support
Delivery work was executed at enterprise scale across 200+ sites, with strict governance and compatibility requirements.
Integration Stability & Modernization
More than 40 integrations were stabilized and supported during modernization to ensure predictable data exchange and business continuity.
Performance Optimization With Caching Refactor
Expensive data fetching flows were refactored and combined with tailored caching strategies to accelerate loading time across key pages.
Extended Configuration Governance
Configuration management was extended with a custom approach enabling controlled rollout strategies and safe multi-site governance.
Granular Config Merge Deployment
A new solution was implemented to merge config fragments into existing site configurations, avoiding classical full overwrites and enabling safer updates.
[Core Features]
[Implementation]
Modernization Planning & Upgrade Path
An upgrade strategy was prepared for Drupal 7 → 8 and later Drupal 8 → 10 modernization, aligned with Site Factory enterprise constraints.
Enterprise Delivery Collaboration
The in-house engineering team was extended to accelerate delivery, provide architectural input, and support platform-wide technical decisions.
Performance Refactoring & Cache Optimization
Integration-heavy data fetching logic was refactored and combined with optimized cache layers to reduce page loading times.
Config Merge Strategy & Safe Rollouts
A custom config merge mechanism was delivered to enable granular updates and controlled rollout across hundreds of already released sites.
[Testimonials]
As Dev Team Lead on my project for 10 months, Oleksiy (PathToProject) demonstrated excellent technical skills and the ability to handle complex Drupal projects. His full-stack expertise is highly valuable.
Laurent Poinsignon
Domain Delivery Manager Web at TotalEnergies
[Business Outcomes]
200+ Sites Modernization Enabled
Platform modernization was supported for an ecosystem of 200+ sites with predictable governance and long-term scalability.
Faster Page Loading Across Enterprise Platform
Loading speed was significantly improved through caching refactoring and optimized delivery strategies.
Stable Delivery With 40+ Integrations
Enterprise integrations were stabilized throughout modernization, ensuring uninterrupted business operations and data availability.
Reduced Risk Through Config Fragment Merging
Configuration updates were made safer by avoiding classical full overwrites, enabling controlled changes across released sites.
Improved Operational Efficiency
Modern deployment strategies reduced operational overhead and improved maintainability at enterprise multisite scale.
Future-Proof Platform For Drupal 10+ Evolution
The platform was prepared for long-term evolution with improved architecture, governance, and operational stability.
[Next Projects]
“It was my pleasure working with Oleksiy (PathToProject) on a new Drupal website. He is a true full-stack developer—the ideal mix of DevOps expertise, deep front-end knowledge, and the structured thinking of a senior back-end developer. He is well-organized and never lets anything slip. Oleksiy understands what needs to be done before being asked and can manage a project independently with minimal involvement from clients, product managers, or business analysts. One of the best consultants I’ve worked with so far. ”
“Oleksiy (PathToProject) and I worked together on a Digital Transformation project for Bayer LATAM Radiología. Oly was the Drupal developer, and I was the business lead. His professionalism, technical expertise, and ability to deliver functional improvements were some of the key attributes he brought to the project. I also want to highlight his collaboration and flexibility—throughout the entire journey, Oleksiy exceeded my expectations. It’s great when you can partner with vendors you trust, and who go the extra mile. ”
“Oleksiy (PathToProject) is a great professional with solid experience in Drupal. He is reliable, hard-working, and responsive. He dealt with high organizational complexity seamlessly. He was also very positive and made teamwork easy. It was a pleasure working with him. ”
“Oleksiy (PathToProject) worked with me on a specific project over a period of three months. He took full ownership of the project and successfully led it to completion with minimal initial information. His technical skills are unquestionably top-tier, and working with him was a pleasure. I would gladly collaborate with Oleksiy again at any opportunity. ”
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)Drupal-Based Research Data Management Platform
“Oleksiy (PathToProject) has been a valuable developer resource over the past six months for us at LSHTM. This included coming on board to revive and complete a stalled Drupal upgrade project, as well as carrying out work to improve our site accessibility and functionality. I have found Oleksiy to be very knowledgeable and skilful and would happily work with him again in the future. ”
“Oleksiy (PathToProject) is demanding and responsive. Comfortable with an Agile approach and strong technical skills, I appreciate the way he challenges stories and features to clarify specifications before and during sprints. ”
“As Dev Team Lead on my project for 10 months, Oleksiy (PathToProject) demonstrated excellent technical skills and the ability to handle complex Drupal projects. His full-stack expertise is highly valuable. ”
