Veikkaus
Renewing the content management system with Drupal
Veikkaus Oy, a prominent Finnish gaming company, offers an extensive array of gambling entertainment across Finland. Their diverse gaming portfolio includes lottery tickets, sports betting, slot machines, table games, and scratch cards. Veikkaus is dedicated to infusing joy into gaming experiences while also assuming a critical role in preventing gambling-related harm.
In November 2022, Druid embarked on a significant content management system renewal project collaborating closely with the company. Veikkaus had reached the end of the road with its existing content management system and required a thorough update. After an open tendering competition, Druid was chosen as the project’s implementer. Druid’s winning proposal is centered around the Drupal content management system, which is already integrated into other aspects of Veikkaus’ operations, aligning seamlessly with the organization’s technical requirements.
The transition from the old CMS
In the Veikkaus project, the aging content management system is undergoing a transformation, with efficient Drupal taking its place, simplifying content input and management. Additionally, data migration from the old system to the new one is facilitated through a separate Symfony interface, replacing the outdated CMS interface. The project’s most significant technical challenge lies in modernizing and updating the content management system without causing a drastic change to the user interface.
“The primary objective was to replace the old system with a new content management solution. Rather than making radical changes to the existing processes, our focus was solely on system renewal, paving the way for future maintenance and development,” explains Samuli Rajala, Veikkaus’ project manager. In the future, Druid will also assume responsibility for CMS maintenance and hosting.
“The project has made substantial progress, despite the vast amount of content and extensive data transfer. We’ve consistently advanced within the project, and working alongside the Druid team, we’ve devised practical strategies to streamline the project,”
Samuli Rajala, Veikkaus’ project manager
Versatile and user-friendly Drupal
Drupal was selected as the new content management system due to its versatility and user-friendliness. “It ranks among the world’s most popular systems, offering a vast array of integrable modules, facilitating cost-effective and rapid scalability, as well as the creation of customized solutions,” remarks Arto Iijalainen, Druid’s scrum master and project manager.
Despite Druid being responsible for system maintenance, Veikkaus retains flexibility, not relying solely on a single vendor thanks to the expansive Drupal community. This flexibility empowers Veikkaus to choose the best service provider based on their evolving needs. Moreover, Drupal’s global community of over a million developers ensures continual system refinement, robust security and unwavering reliability.
Agile methods applied in project dynamics
The project has advanced as planned, even though its course has not always been straightforward. The teams from Druid and Veikkaus have collaboratively brainstormed solutions that mutually benefit both parties. Working methods and project approaches have evolved during the journey, with ongoing collaboration proving pivotal to success.
“While we discuss a fixed delivery with predefined specifications, not everything is always straightforward. In this project, we’ve been able to enhance the team’s working methods and collaborative efforts. The advantages of agile methods have been specifically implemented in teamwork,” adds Iijalainen.
“The project has made substantial progress, despite the vast amount of content and extensive data transfer. We’ve consistently advanced within the project, and working alongside the Druid team, we’ve devised practical strategies to streamline the project,” summarizes Rajala.
Sustaining close collaboration in the project’s continuation
Iijalainen underscores that the project has been an inspiring and seamless continuation of Druid’s prior headless projects. Collaboration with Veikkaus has flowed smoothly, with communication being effortlessly effective.
From Veikkaus’ viewpoint, Rajala states that the project has unfolded exceptionally well, with results manifesting as early as the production phase. Veikkaus’ end-users have praised the new system, describing it as intuitive and user-friendly.
The journey continues in close collaboration, with the project’s target completion date scheduled for the conclusion of 2023!
