2025-10-17

DrupalCon Vienna 2025: be careful around this herd

DrupalCon Vienna 2025, 14-17 October. Drupal AI workshops, the Dropsolid booth, an EASA case study, the Danube, and too many people to talk to properly.

Servus from Vienna.

DrupalCon Vienna 2025 - full group photo

Be careful around this herd of Drupalists.

DrupalCon Vienna 2025 ran from October 14 to 17. The yearly appointment for Drupal nerds, fans, and the businesses that run on it. It went by fast.

Vienna

The Danube Canal in Vienna - Blue Danube boat and a sauna pop-up on the water

Lovely city. The Danube Canal has a sauna pop-up floating on it. That's the kind of detail that makes a place.

Sessions and workshops

I presented the Drupal AI workshop and the Drupal AI and strategy session, both together with Dr. Christoph Breidert from 1xINTERNET. A strong European collaboration between 1xINTERNET and Dropsolid, and one I genuinely enjoyed. We're practically married if you look at the pictures.

Frederik and Christoph Breidert in front of the DrupalCon Vienna sign

Full room at the Drupal AI workshop session

Drupal AI team meeting with remote participants on screen

From the conference floor

Speaker on stage with slide: Bison instinctively run towards a coming storm

Dropsolid and EASA session: Fueling the future - How Drupal and Open Source propel the airline industry towards carbon neutrality

Frederik with Marcus Johansson in front of the giant Drupal drop

Frederik and a colleague holding Miffy and a horse at the Drupal booth

The one regret

There were too many people I wanted to connect with and not enough hours. I wish I'd spent more time with Marcus Johansson, Mathieu Le Cain, David Bishop, and many more. I also wish I'd spent more time in the contrib room.

Next time.

The bosses and the new connections

Funny anecdote: I only see my bosses Dominique De Cooman and Tassos Koutlas abroad. Probably next time I see them is either in Paris or in Athens. It's always fun to meet in the flesh.

I also made a ton of new connections, including with Sachiko Muto. We had a brief conversation around Drupal for government and the growing importance of sovereign AI.

Drupal4gov.eu is going strong. It's a conference from government for government, no code. We had more than 30 submissions for only 6 slots, with submissions from Pakistan, Macedonia, UK, US, Netherlands, Belgium, and more. It's part of the EU Open Source Week. It will sell out.

The AI momentum

The vibe was energising. Electrifying.

On the Drupal AI front, the momentum is increasing. 18 FTEs pushing it forward, significant budget, and companies lining up to join the initiative. This open source flywheel is just getting started. Mark my words.

Dries made the analogy of the Bison running towards the storm in his keynote. This AI storm better hold on tight, because this crazy herd has weathered some storms before, and we are not done yet.