acquia

In the world of technology we're always looking for the latest 'rock star'. Who is that next hot tech visionary that will build an adoring following of thousands?

In my opinion we can now add the founder of the open source content management system Drupal (and its commercial startup Acquia) Dries Buytaert to the rock star list. This week he launched Acquia with $7 million in funding. He also hosted a Drupal lovefest (DrupalCon Boston) which boasted over 800 attendees.

It's all a far cry from the humble beginnings in a Belgian dorm room a few short years ago. I asked Buytaert about those humble beginnings and about the surprises he's had along the way.

Drupal, the open source Web publishing and content management software, will soon have a commercial distribution. bizjournals reports that Acquia, a 12-employee company based in Andover, Mass., will release its product later this year.

I attended the Acquia panel at Drupalcon in Boston yesterday. I must admit that I thought this session was going to be packed with people interested in what Acquia is going to do and how it will relate to Drupal. Plus, Dries always draws a crowd. It turned out that the session on theming drew a much bigger crowd. In hindsight, I am not surprised. I was sitting in the Drupal IRC channel when the Acquia announcement first hit. There was a mention of the news but neither concern nor intrigue about this new addition to the Drupal family. People were more focused with the their immediate tasks working with Drupal. They trust Dries and the Drupal Association to do what is right for Drupal.