QED42's Journey in Shaping Digital Experiences: Insights from Piyuesh Kumar

What makes QED42 a key player in the world of digital platforms? 

If you're familiar with Drupal, you’ve likely heard about QED42’s significant contributions, but there’s more to their story. As a digital experience company, they don’t just build platforms—they actively shape the tools that power them, especially Drupal. Their expertise in design, engineering, and consulting has helped them deliver tailored digital solutions for organizations like the United Nations and Stanford GSB. But what sets them apart is their deep-rooted commitment to the Drupal community, where they’ve contributed to key initiatives like the Bug Smash Initiative, Olivero theme, and Decoupled Menus. It’s this dedication that makes their story worth diving into.

QED42’s involvement in Drupal isn’t just about keeping up with trends; it’s about driving meaningful change within the platform. They co-maintain over 135 modules on Drupal.org, ensuring Drupal’s continued growth and relevance in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. Their work goes beyond the technical side—QED42’s curiosity and constant drive to improve have led them to explore new ways to enhance the user experience, making Drupal more accessible and effective for everyone. With clients spanning industries and continents, the company has earned a reputation for creating solutions that not only work but create lasting impact.

We had the opportunity to dive deeper into this journey through a video interview with Piyuesh Kumar, the Director of Technology at QED42. Starting as an intern, he watched Drupal evolve from a basic content management framework into a powerful digital experience platform.

Our sub-editor, Alka Elizabeth, led the conversation, uncovering insights into Piyuesh’s journey with Drupal and the company. Kazima Abbas, another sub-editor with us, prepared the questions and copy-edited the finished interview. 

In it, Piyuesh Kumar says:

"Over the years, I've seen Drupal evolve from a content management framework into an open digital experience platform (DXP). Today, the industry demands more from these platforms—beyond just websites. Customers now seek integrated platforms that provide insightful data and connect with various marketing technologies, analytics, and user behaviour tracking."

Below is a transcribed version of the interview in textual form. Meanwhile, those who prefer video interviews can watch the full interview on our YouTube channel.

If you are still undecided on whether to read more, here is a sneak-peak into what lies in the conversation:

• What significant shifts occurred with the release of Drupal 8, which introduced Symfony components and industry-standard practices? How did this make the platform easier to learn and use, especially with new tools like the configuration management system replacing older methods?  
• The potential of the Starshot initiative and how it could shape Drupal’s future.
• Excitement about his upcoming sessions at DrupalCon Barcelona, where he’ll explore topics like AI’s role in supporting Digital Experience Platforms (DXP) and the importance of designing with privacy in mind, particularly in the context of GDPR.
• His journey and insights highlight how QED42 remains at the forefront of Drupal’s growth and innovation.

TDT [1]: With nearly 14 years of experience at QED42, how would you describe your journey from its inception to the current phase?

Piyuesh Kumar: It's been a long journey, but I'll summarize it. I joined QED42 as an intern, and in fact, I was the first intern at QED42. At the time, Pankaj and Madhu were running the company, and I came from college—VIT Vellore. I was already involved in a lot of problem-solving with technology during my college days, like managing the technical needs for college fest events.

When I joined QED42, the first thing I was introduced to was Drupal, a PHP-based framework. While I had some prior experience with PHP, Drupal was new to me. We had a quick 10-15 day crash course on Drupal. Back then, in 2011, Drupal had a different learning curve, with hooks being the core way to modify or tweak its flow. It typically takes time for anyone new to technology to understand hooks, but I got the hang of it.

My first project at QED42 was migrating an ASP.NET website to Drupal. At the time, I was still learning Drupal, but this project gave me valuable insights into how databases are structured within Drupal. 

This was during the era of Migrate V1, a framework that is now a more robust part of Drupal 4, but back then, it was basic and required the use of table wizards. Migration was tricky, but thanks to my passion for databases and technology, I was able to work through the project efficiently.

That was a brief look at my first project. Over the years, I have seen Drupal evolve from a content management framework into an open digital experience platform (DXP). Today, the industry demands more from these platforms—beyond just websites. Customers now seek integrated platforms that provide insightful data and connect with various marketing technologies, analytics, and user behavior tracking.

I started as an individual contributor and have witnessed the team grow from a three-person operation to a 150+ team today. Along the way, I've become an open-source evangelist, actively contributing to the Drupal community in Pune by managing events and meetups.

Currently, I head various technology verticals at QED42. While we started with Drupal, over the years, we've added design, modern JavaScript interfaces, and many other technologies to our stack. Today, I manage these technologies, overseeing their development. That's an overview of my journey and how I've evolved over my 14 years at QED42.

TDT [2]: What major challenges did you face when starting out, either with Drupal or as part of QED42? Drupal is often criticized for its steep learning curve, even for those with a technical background. Did you encounter significant obstacles during that time, and how did you manage to overcome them?

Piyuesh Kumar: Initially, to be honest, when I started out, we were doing a lot of site building and not much coding. Coming straight out of college, where I had been doing a lot of hands-on coding, transitioning to more of a site builder role was a shift for me. But soon, custom requirements started coming my way, and I learned the importance of leveraging what’s available rather than reinventing the wheel. The key was working with business requirements and developing custom solutions where necessary.

Drupal did have a steep learning curve, especially up until Drupal 7, which followed a 'not invented here' syndrome, meaning it had its own unique way of doing things. This changed significantly with the arrival of Drupal 8, which brought Symfony components into its core and adopted industry standards. 

For example,

instead of using the Features module to manage deployments, Drupal 8 introduced a configuration management system within its core—similar to how other frameworks handle it. This shift from a proprietary way of doing things to more standardized methods greatly reduced Drupal’s learning curve.

The programming model also evolved. Earlier versions were very hook-oriented and followed procedural programming. Now, with object-oriented programming (OOP) becoming the norm in Drupal 8 and beyond, it's easier for new developers to understand the code without having to learn as many 'Drupal specifics.' Most students coming out of college are already familiar with OOP, which makes the transition smoother.

While this learning curve was a challenge when I first joined, it's much less of an obstacle now. In fact, at QED42, we run boot camps and internship programs where we hire fresh interns from colleges. These programs have become much easier to manage with Drupal 8 and above, compared to the earlier days of Drupal 7.

TDT [3]: With Starshot and Drupal CMS, there’s a lot of anticipation that the user experience will significantly improve. What are your thoughts on this potential enhancement?

Piyuesh Kumar: Starshot is geared towards a completely different direction, and it's exactly where Drupal should be heading right now. As Dries highlighted in his keynote, the market share of Drupal is dropping, while low-code/no-code tools are gaining more adoption. The major reason for this shift is the barrier to entry when you're building a site that needs to cater to specific requirements or serve as a digital experience platform.

Starshot is designed to reduce this barrier and shorten the go-to-market time for certain types of use cases. Think of Starshot as a starter kit that can get you 40-60% of the way to building your website, after which you can handle the rest of the development. That’s where Starshot is focused.

At QED42, we are also working closely with the Starshot initiative. One of our recent contributions has been developing a solution to convert CivicTheme components into SDCs (Single Directory Components) in an automated way. This will be part of the Starshot demo planned for DrupalCon Barcelona. Manually doing this would have taken a significant amount of time, but the automated process has streamlined it considerably.

So, I believe Starshot is headed for greatness. It's focused on reducing the barrier to entry and shortening the time it takes to bring certain types of projects to market, which is the main advantage that low-code/no-code tools offer. This is where Drupal currently lacks a competitive edge, and with Starshot coming on board, it’s going to improve significantly.

TDT [4]: With Drupal 11 released, what are your thoughts on its potential impact? How do you think Drupal 11 will influence the platform and its users?

Piyuesh Kumar: Drupal has come a long way, from Drupal 8 to Drupal 9, Drupal 10, and now Drupal 11. With the introduction of Drupal 8, the gap between these versions has been significantly reduced. 

I often hear customers say they made huge investments in building their Drupal 7 websites and now face significant costs in migrating to Drupal 8 or later versions. They wonder if this will continue with each new version, like Drupal 9, 10, and now 11. The answer is no—Drupal 8, 9, 10, and 11 are incremental. 

Essentially, moving from Drupal 8.10.x to Drupal 9.0.0 is more of an upgrade than a full migration, which reduces the overall effort and cost.

With Drupal 11, there are certainly a lot of new features. One of the most significant improvements is that SDC (Single Directory Components) is now part of the core. Most agencies working in Drupal, particularly on the front end, have adopted a component-based development approach. With SDC in the core, Drupal now provides an official way to build front-end components, which is a major plus in my opinion.

CKEditor 5 is another new feature that’s been integrated into Drupal 11, along with recipes that are currently experimental. Recipes lay the foundation for initiatives like Starshot, enabling users to bundle mini-use cases together. For example, you can select an SEO recipe, an article recipe, and an events recipe, then combine them to build 60-70% of a website, leaving only the customization specific to your business. This approach significantly reduces development time and effort.

Another key point is that Drupal’s evolution has always aligned with industry needs and the challenges its users face. For instance, until Drupal 7, there was no core way to manage layouts. Drupal 8 introduced Layout Builder, and now with Drupal 11, we are seeing the development of Experience Builder—a more modern and intuitive way to create pages in Drupal. This evolution reflects Drupal’s focus on addressing real-world user needs, which is a great direction for the platform to continue growing.

TDT [4]: How do you foresee the impact of AI on content management systems, particularly in the context of Drupal? Given that your session at DrupalCon Barcelona will focus on AI, how do you envision AI shaping the future of Drupal and its ecosystem?

Piyuesh Kumar: AI and machine learning have been around for quite some time, but their adoption has surged recently. I was looking at a McKinsey survey that showed a steep increase in the number of organizations adopting generative AI over the last year, especially with the rise of large language models (LLMs) and generative AI. This steep growth contrasts with the smoother adoption gradient of previous years. 

Organizations today are integrating generative AI use cases across various functions, not just within content management but also in areas like filtering leads that are more likely to convert based on specific criteria.

In the context of Drupal or content management systems, I see a lot of potential use cases for AI. For instance, there's already a contributed module, the Drupal AI module, which focuses on these AI-driven functionalities. This module was developed quickly after generative AI became popular, and it shows that there are numerous possibilities.

Some of the use cases that can be addressed with generative AI in content management include simple tasks like SEO content generation. You could input your industry, pull trending keywords from Google, and use a recommendation engine that suggests which content to invest in to improve authority for certain keywords in search results. While I’m not suggesting AI will replace SEO agencies, these tools will give site owners more power to make informed decisions and recommendations with AI modules.

Additionally, AI could take over tasks for which we currently rely on manual effort, like content moderation. For example, specific stopwords or keywords could be flagged by an AI model during content creation, reducing the need for human intervention. The model could provide recommendations, and the final proofreading would only focus on removing unnecessary content.

AI doesn’t replace human effort but complements it. We should focus on the intersection where AI and content management systems meet, using AI to power and enhance these systems, creating smarter and more efficient workflows.

TDT [5]: Can you provide an overview of your session at DrupalCon Barcelona? What key topics will you be covering?

Piyuesh Kumar: Right, so I’m doing two different talks at DrupalCon Barcelona. The first one is about AI and content and how AI supports Digital Experience Platforms (DXP). I’ll be discussing several use cases where AI can be augmented within content management systems and, most importantly, how to do this safely. A big concern we hear from customers when discussing AI is how to control the output and ensure sensitive data doesn’t get exposed to AI models. I’ll be addressing these concerns and offering some insights on managing AI use responsibly.

The second talk focuses on how to design for privacy, especially in the context of GDPR compliance. Personalization platforms today rely on user data to provide a tailored experience. However, collecting personal data poses privacy risks, so I’ll be discussing techniques like pseudonymization, where instead of collecting individual user data, you segment users into different groups. This allows for personalization without compromising privacy.

I’ll also be talking about the role of UX in creating a privacy-conscious yet user-friendly experience. I’ll cover a case study of a platform we built for UNICEF called Laha, which focuses on women’s safety and violence prevention. It's a forum where women and girls can ask questions and share concerns without revealing personal data. They can also access content and resources anonymously. So, my talks will cover both AI's role in DXPs and designing for privacy, using our UNICEF project as a real-world example.

TDT [6]: Is this your first time attending DrupalCon, or have you participated in previous events as well?

Piyuesh Kumar: It's an interesting story. My first DrupalCon was DrupalCon LA; at the time, Drupal 8 was just about to be released. I was much more active in the open-source community, organizing events and contributing regularly. I was running a session for various regional communities in India on how to future-proof your skills with Drupal 8. There was a lot of concern among developers working with Drupal 7 because Drupal 8 introduced massive changes, particularly the shift from procedural to object-oriented programming, which was a significant transition.

One morning, I woke up to see a crowdfunding campaign titled 'Let's Send Piyuesh to DrupalCon LA.' It was completely unexpected! I wasn’t sure what would come of it, but it worked, and I was able to attend the conference thanks to the love and support of the Drupal community. This kind of community support is something I’ve never seen in any other tech community, and it motivated me to continue giving back rather than just being a consumer.

So, that was my first DrupalCon in Los Angeles, and I'm incredibly grateful to the Drupal community in India and globally for making that possible.

TDT [7]: You’ve mentioned being actively involved in organizing Drupal camps and now heading to DrupalCon Barcelona. Given that Drupal is a community-driven platform, how do you think events like these—whether regional or global—contribute to the Drupal community as a whole?

Piyuesh Kumar: Well, I think these events are a great place to network and meet people. For example, DrupalCon LA was my first-ever DrupalCon, and I was focused on attending sessions and learning as much as possible. But after that, my focus shifted more towards meeting people and engaging with the community. These events provide an excellent platform for networking.

Secondly, they offer a space for people to showcase their work. Through sessions, tech talks, and case study presentations, individuals and organizations get the opportunity to highlight what they've done, how they've implemented Drupal, and how Drupal has impacted their projects or industries. Whether it's NPOs, NGOs, or other sectors, these events allow attendees to see how different industries are leveraging Drupal today.

Overall, I feel these events play a huge role in connecting people, providing them a platform to share what Drupal is doing, and allowing them to showcase their work. It’s also a way for others to take away key learnings from real-world implementations and apply those insights to their projects.

TDT [8]: QED42 is recognized as a prominent agency within the Drupal community, and you're currently involved with initiatives like Drupal Starshot. What specific contributions has QED42 made to Drupal and the open-source ecosystem in general?

Piyuesh Kumar: When I first joined QED42 and was introduced to Drupal, I didn’t initially grasp the full significance of the Drupal community. My first Drupal event was Drupal Camp at IIT Bombay, where I was a speaker, presenting on a migration project I had just completed. At that time, I saw Drupal as just another framework, a tool for building websites, without fully appreciating what set it apart from other open-source platforms. It was only at that camp that I realized how crucial the community is to what Drupal has become. Drupal has one of the largest open-source communities, and that’s where it clicked for me—community is the backbone of Drupal.

During that project, I developed a custom module, which I later contributed back to the community. This experience was pivotal for me and shaped how I approached my work at QED42. The mentoring I received here encouraged me to adopt the philosophy of not just consuming from the Drupal community, but also giving back. That’s the mindset we foster across the team. When building custom solutions, we always ask: 'Is this a generic solution? Can it help someone else tomorrow?' This approach has helped us build a sustainable model for open-source contribution.

Over the years, we’ve focused on several Drupal initiatives, particularly with Drupal 8. I’ve appreciated how Drupal has embraced focused initiatives, such as configuration management and open-source routing, allowing contributors to see the bigger picture of what they’re working towards. This initiative-driven approach gives contributors more clarity and purpose than just addressing issues ad hoc.

At QED42, we make open-source contributions accessible, especially for first-time contributors. We hold workshops to guide new contributors through the process, explaining the importance of meaningful contributions and walking them through the guidelines on Drupal.org. We celebrate every first contribution with internal recognition, fostering a supportive environment for open-source work.

We also have daily open-source catch-ups, where team members discuss their contributions and help each other with any challenges they’re facing. Every Friday, we hold a longer wrap-up meeting to discuss our progress, with a recent focus on Starshot. These calls are particularly helpful for those who may not contribute every day but want to stay informed and engaged.

Overall, having open source in our DNA and cultivating a mindset of giving back has been key to our success. It’s this philosophy, paired with a strong support system, that drives QED42’s contributions to Drupal and the open-source ecosystem.

TDT [9]: Why do you believe open-source contributions are crucial for an organization like QED42?

Piyuesh Kumar: I believe open-source contributions are important not just for QED42, but for every organization that is consuming Drupal today. Open-source projects are community-driven, and when we talk about open-source contributions, it’s not just about code. Contributions can take many forms, such as case studies that showcase how Drupal has empowered organizations, not just for simpler portals but also for larger enterprises across various use cases.

Everyone must contribute back to Drupal and help it evolve as a product. This doesn’t only mean code contributions, but also ideas on how Drupal can improve and stay competitive with other platforms out there. These initiatives require effort from the community, and since Drupal is community-driven, if organizations leveraging Drupal don’t contribute back, progress will be slower. It will take more time to bring initiatives to a production-ready state.

Organizations using Drupal have an equal stake in how the product’s roadmap evolves, how fast Drupal grows, and how well it keeps up with industry standards. So, every organization using Drupal today must contribute to its development and growth.

TDT [10]: What trends do you see currently shaping the digital experience platforms (DXP) landscape? As the Director of Technology at a reputed organization, how do you stay updated and keep track of these evolving trends, particularly in such a fast-paced, dynamic environment?

Piyuesh Kumar: As I mentioned earlier, websites were once viewed as single content management systems, especially around 2010-2011. But over time, the need for digital transformations has grown, especially during the COVID period when organizations realized the importance of their digital presence. The industry has changed significantly, and Drupal has adapted to these shifts in a big way.

Previously, websites were stand-alone entities. Now, we’re looking at omnichannel experiences, where one website can deliver content to virtual assistants, mobile apps, and more. Omnichannel experiences are a big trend right now. Another major trend is the incorporation of AI capabilities within the digital experience platform (DXP) space. This is rapidly catching on, and I believe it's the future of DXPs.

For me, staying up-to-date involves reading, but that’s not enough. At QED42, we believe in constantly experimenting with new technologies and trends. We're a technology-driven company, and I think it's important to not just follow trends but actively engage with them. I’m still hands-on, tinkering with technologies, which helps me build confidence in them. But beyond that, we’ve built a tech culture at QED42 where everyone contributes knowledge.

We have internal Drupal meetups and discussions about other frameworks we work with, like Next.js, Node.js, and GraphQL. The goal is to foster a culture where everyone shares ideas and information. At QED42, anyone can suggest new platforms they believe will gain traction. We then run small proof-of-concept projects to see if they make sense. This open approach helps everyone stay updated.

Ultimately, we believe that knowledge can come from anyone. It’s not a top-down process, but more of a collaborative effort where everyone contributes to the knowledge base. This is how we stay on top of trends and continue to innovate.

TDT [11]: How do you envision the role of QED42 evolving in the digital experience space over the next five to ten years? What direction do you see the company heading in as the industry continues to grow and change?

Piyuesh Kumar: We're a technology company, and we want to continue tinkering with new technologies and adopting emerging trends. I can answer this question from a perspective on recent trends. Right now, we're heavily focused on open-source digital experience transformations for different clients. We're doing a lot of work with headless architectures, where the front end and back end are decoupled systems. This allows customers to leverage the power of Drupal as a CMS while using modern JavaScript interfaces like Next.js or React, which provide a more interactive and engaging user experience.

One of the upcoming verticals we're working on is what we call AIverse. We're experimenting with use cases that can be developed using generative AI models and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) applications. A few years ago, people consumed information differently—they used to read content. Today, users expect information to reach them rather than having to actively search for it. Every customer, regardless of the industry, expects their digital platforms to provide this seamless experience. Our focus is on how to make information more easily consumable.

Take search functionality, for example. Traditionally, users type in keywords and hope to find the right information, but this doesn’t always yield accurate results. Let’s say you’re searching for data, like 'What was the population of India in 2020?' You may or may not get the correct answer at the top of your search results. But users now expect to see the right information immediately. We're focusing on making these types of use cases more seamlessly integrated with the CMS platforms we work with.

We're also building contextual chatbots based on the content of a site. These are not just simple question-and-answer bots but are more dynamic, allowing users to ask follow-up questions based on initial responses. These kinds of tools are helping modernize the DXP space, and we see AI playing a significant role in shaping its future.

In short, our focus is on modernizing digital experience platforms with AI tools and making the user experience more seamless and intuitive. That’s how we see the future of the DXP space and how our role is evolving within it.

TDT [12]: You're deeply involved with Drupal, QED42, DrupalCon, and various tech events, making you a tech-savvy individual. How do you drive your passion for technology and innovation? Is there any personal experience that has significantly impacted your professional journey and contributed to where you are today?

Piyuesh Kumar: My passion for technology has always been there, and staying hands-on has helped me sustain it over the years. One of the most impactful experiences in my professional journey was DrupalCon LA, which I mentioned earlier. It was a major turning point for me. However, what has kept me driven is the love and appreciation I receive from the Drupal community. The low barrier to getting involved in the Drupal community is something that has stood out to me.

Back in 2011, Drupal didn’t have Slack channels like it does today, but we had IRC chats where you could easily get support from anyone in the community, even core contributors. It might sound surprising for someone new to Drupal, but it's incredibly easy to reach out to someone who's a core contributor—you just drop them a message on Slack, and they’ll get back to you. The sense of community and the ease of connection has always kept me engaged.

At QED42, I also get to experiment with technology, which is something I’ve always wanted to do. My role involves helping customers solve problems through technology. I do a lot of consulting where I’m directly involved in understanding their problem statements and recommending the right solutions, whether it's Drupal or something else. For example, if a client wants to build a portal similar to Airbnb, I might recommend using Drupal for the backend to manage assets, while suggesting a JavaScript front end to enhance user interactivity.

My focus has always been on marrying the problem statement with the right technology solution, and that's what I continue to do at QED42.

We would like to thank Piyuesh Kumar for taking the time to share his insights into QED42's contributions to Drupal and the platform's future. His reflections on QED42’s journey and their involvement in initiatives like Starshot and AI integration highlight the company’s ongoing impact on the Drupal community. We also extend our thanks to Priyanka Jeph for her involvement and support throughout the interview.