Before I got into IT, I spent time working behind the scenes on the set of The Wire, right here in Baltimore. My job was to make sure everything that needed to happen off-camera happened, so that what people saw on screen looked seamless. Nobody in the audience thinks about the work that goes into holding a production together. They just watch the show.
I think about that a lot in my current role. I’ve been in the software business for 20 years, and at The Canton Group for nearly six years, and as Director of Professional Services, I lead teams through web modernization work for government agencies. The people visiting these sites don’t think about the infrastructure underneath, the security scanning, the compliance requirements. They just need the site to work, to be trustworthy, and to give them what they expect. That’s the standard we hold ourselves to.
What “Modernization” Usually Means — and What It Should
When agencies come to us wanting to modernize, the conversation usually starts with the visible layer: the site looks dated, another agency’s site looks polished, leadership wants something that better reflects the mission. That’s a fair starting point. But it’s only part of the picture.
Most of the people initiating these projects aren’t infrastructure specialists. They’re content managers, communications leads, program staff. They’re skilled at what they do, but the security and stability picture underneath the surface isn’t always visible to them. A responsible partner must bring that full scope to the table.
We scan every hosted site on at least a weekly basis. Anything critical gets resolved within 24 hours; medium-severity findings within 72. That’s the baseline, not the exception, whether we’re responsible for the application layer alone or the full infrastructure stack.
“The chief goal of modernization should be creating something that’s scalable, that grows with technology, that’s as secure as it can be, and that allows you to continue long-term. If you’re using the same version of something for five years, you’re three years too late to move.”
Why Drupal Works for Government
One in eight websites worldwide runs on Drupal. That kind of adoption reflects a platform with a massive development community, continuous security patches, and tested solutions to both common and unusual problems. It’s open source, which means no licensing fees and no vendor lock-in risk. We’ve paired it with FedRAMP-compliant hosting infrastructure to deliver a complete package that meets what government agencies require, from local jurisdictions through federal programs.
From a day-to-day standpoint, Drupal is built for the people who actually run these sites. We configure editors so staff can see exactly what a page will look like before publishing, and we set up controls so authorized users can manage content, update branding, and add pages without ever needing to call us. The goal is to reduce dependency on the vendor for routine operations, not increase it.
What We’re Building Toward
For the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General, we built a Recommendation Dashboard that gives the public and legislators direct visibility into the status of submitted recommendations, promoting real-time transparency, accountability, and public trust through accessible, open data. That kind of traceability and accountability is exactly what a modern government platform should enable.
Throughout our projects, we’re also exploring automated content publication pipelines to reduce manual processing time for publicly available documents, chatbot integrations for more direct end-user navigation, and AI-powered accessibility features for users on assistive devices. Section 508 compliance is a legal floor, but there’s a real opportunity to go further and build something that genuinely serves every user who comes to the site.
The Misconceptions That Create Problems
The most common one is timeline. An agency wants a full rebuild: new design, migrated content, new functionality, and they estimate three to six months. That expectation rarely leads anywhere good.
A better approach is iterative: build the right foundation, launch with the highest-priority sections, then iterate rapidly from there. Once the platform is solid, subsequent updates happen in hours or days rather than months. Any vendor willing to promise a complete rebuild in an unrealistic timeframe isn’t doing the agency a favor.
If an agency approaches us with a fixed, non-negotiable deadline—such as a vendor contract expiring in 90 days—we’ll be upfront about what’s feasible and what’s not. We’ve turned down projects where the constraints would prevent us from delivering something we could stand behind. I’d rather have that conversation upfront.
Advice for Agencies Preparing to Modernize
First: plan for a genuine investment of time and ongoing collaboration. This isn’t a project you hand off and revisit at the finish line. The agencies that get the best results stay engaged throughout.
Second: do an honest content audit before you start. In most cases, less than 30 to 40 percent of what’s currently on a site is still actively valuable. Understanding what matters to your audience and what can be retired gives the project a clear focus and prevents scope from expanding in ways that dilute everything.
Third: know your audience. The most successful projects we’ve worked on came from agencies that could clearly say: “these are the sections our users need most, start there.” That alignment from day one makes everything else easier.
The Bigger Picture
We live in an era of information overload. When a government agency publishes something, thousands or even millions of people are scrutinizing it. Social media offers reach but not control. The agency-owned website is the one channel where you set the terms: what goes out, how it’s presented, in your own voice.
I ran a charity 5K at a conference a few months ago, and somewhere around mile two, I found myself thinking about this. Keeping up a consistent pace over a long distance takes preparation and commitment, not a sprint out of the gate. A government digital platform is the same way. The agencies that will be most effective are the ones that treat their digital presence as a long-term strategic asset, not a one-time project.
Investing in a secure, scalable platform isn’t just a technology decision. It’s a decision about how your agency communicates with the public. At The Canton Group, that’s the work we’re built for.
Ready to talk about what modernization should actually look like for your agency?
The Canton Group helps government agencies build secure, scalable, and compliant digital platforms designed to grow with your mission.
