Insights from the Open Source Experience in Paris

On 10 and 11 December, Dropsolid and Dropsolid AI attended Open Source Experience in Paris, one of the leading open source events in France. As part of the Orange booth, we spent two days engaging with enterprises, public organisations and ecosystem partners around a topic that clearly resonates across Europe: open source experiences.

Partnering with Orange

At Open Source Experience, we were proud to be present together with Orange, one of our customers and a strong advocate of open source within the enterprise and telecom landscape.

Beyond our collaboration, this partnership also has a personal history. More than fifteen years ago, one of Dropsolid’s founders, Dominique De Cooman, worked as an independent Drupal consultant on a project at Orange in Bordeaux. That first assignment, and the conversations that followed, played a role in the creation of Dropsolid.

Fifteen years later, working together with Orange again feels both meaningful and motivating. It reflects how open source partnerships can evolve over time: from individual projects to long-term collaboration, focused on digital autonomy, open platforms and AI-driven digital experiences.

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Open source is alive and more relevant than ever

One message came back consistently at the event: open source is alive, more than ever! Our booth was surrounded by open source products we had never encountered before — a good reminder that innovation often happens beyond the usual, well-known platforms. Keeping an open mind is part of working with open source.

Organisations are increasingly reassessing their dependency on proprietary platforms. Rising licensing costs, limited flexibility and vendor lock-in are pushing both public and private organisations to look for alternatives that give them control over their technology, data and roadmap.

Open source addresses these needs directly:
Transparency at the level of code and architecture
Freedom to integrate, extend and scale
No forced roadmap or licensing dependency
Strong communities that accelerate innovation

From open source principles to enterprise-grade reality

On the second day of the event, we demonstrated at the Orange booth how Drupal and Mautic, combined on the Dropsolid AI platform, can power enterprise-grade digital experiences. The message resonated clearly: there are open source alternatives to proprietary software that can run at scale. Orange & Dropsolid AI prove this is possible.

What matters now is awareness. Internally within organisations and externally across ecosystems, it is essential to show that open source is not a compromise but a strategic choice. One that offers control over technology and data, flexibility in evolution and a more sustainable approach to budgets and digital roadmaps.

VIP tours: short pitches, strong conversations

One of the standout formats at the event was the VIP tours. Leaders visited the booths and gave us one minute for a clear pitch. They are treated like vip's and we get to meet them.

Looking ahead

Open Source Experience Paris once again showed why open source plays a central role in Europe’s digital future. Not as an ideology, but as a pragmatic foundation for sovereign, scalable and future-proof digital experiences.

We would like to thank Orange for the strong partnership and the opportunity to share the booth, and Open Source Experience for the excellent organisation of the event.

If you would like to continue the conversation around digital sovereignty, open platforms or AI-powered open source solutions, feel free to get in touch with us.

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