Some Open Berkeley customers may have received unsolicited emails with incorrect information from third-party vendors. These messages may state that Drupal 7’s end of life is earlier than it actually is, or that your site may stop functioning, or that your site should use a different content management system.
If you are an Open Berkeley site owner, please disregard any unsolicited vendor emails and be assured that our Web Platform Services team continues to take care of all security updates, accessibility considerations, privacy best practices, and maintenance/support for over 300 campus sites on the Open Berkeley platform.
Please email web-platform@berkeley.edu if you have any questions, and see below for more information.
More information and background
Web Platform Services is managing the transition from the current version of Open Berkeley, based on Drupal 7, to the next generation that will be based on Drupal 9/10. We are fully supporting the current version, including security updates, bug fixes, accessibility improvements, and enhancements, while we work on the new version.
Once the new platform is ready, there will be separate processes and timelines for migrating existing sites and other related tasks, and we plan to communicate with our site owners/customers at the appropriate time (likely in calendar year 2024).
The most recent example of a vendor’s unsolicited marketing email includes incorrect information about Drupal 7’s end-of-life and the availability of support. We are also aware that this vendor has created sites that have accessibility issues and/or are using tools that are not recommended for accessibility.
- The official end-of-life for Drupal 7 is January 2025, not 2023 as the vendor incorrectly indicated. On a weekly basis, our team ensures that all of the Drupal modules we use are covered and kept up-to-date. You can view a list of all of our major and minor releases in our News archive.
- The functionality of your Open Berkeley site is not going to degrade. Our ongoing support includes bug fixes, enhancements, and testing.
- Both Drupal and WordPress are popular content management systems with modules and plugins that cover many functions. A lot of WordPress-vs-Drupal comes down to opinion, familiarity, and the availability of features for specific customer needs. Berkeley IT has consulted with Gartner (third-party technology research firm), who has confirmed our Drupal-based approach.
- Any campus teams considering the DIY (Do-It-Yourself) approach should be aware of the Department of Justice (DOJ) Consent Decree and ensure that any vendors who are engaged will meet the campus accessibility requirements by the appropriate DOJ deadlines.