Acquia is a new software company that has formed to build value-added solutions using the Drupal platform. Current projects under development by Acquia include Carbon, which is the name for their commercially supported distribution of Drupal 6.
Carbon will allow customers to quickly build interactive, community-based publishing sites that include a combination of editorial and user-generated content. Also under development is Spokes, an update notification service for the Carbon distribution. Spokes will give site owners personalized alerts with actionable recommendations. Other projects include Caliper, a spam-blocking application and Yellow Jersey which is a training and certification program.
Acquia.com In Their Own Words
“We are a new software company that will provide value-added software products and services for the Drupal social publishing system. With over two million downloads since inception, Drupal is used by web developers worldwide to build compelling websites. Diverse organizations use Drupal as their core social publishing system, including media companies, non-profit organizations, publishers, and many others. Acquia plans to accelerate and extend market adoption of Drupal by advancing the core technology and offering value-added software products and network services that dramatically speed deployment and reduce risk.”
Why Acquia.com It Might Be A Killer
Drupal is becoming an increasingly popular platform for social publishing and any companies helping people get more out of Drupal should be watched closely. Acquia appear to have the tools and know-how to develop popular social publishing solutions.
Some Questions About Acquia.com
Will Drupal continue to gain in popularity or will it lose out to other more user-friendly solutions? Acquia are betting the life of the company on the success of a platform that they don’t have any control over. 
