Drupal — CIAM integration for a global nutrition brand ecosystem

Attico migrated user registration and personal data storage from Drupal to a centralized Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) infrastructure for a global FMCG ecosystem. The project helped local markets align with evolving security standards and global data governance requirements while preserving the flexibility of custom Drupal-based user experiences across multiple regional websites.

2x reduction in Drupal database footprint

Customer

A Fortune 500 multinational food and beverage corporation

Industry

FMCG

Services

Drupal integration

Development Services

Overview

The client is a global company that produces and distributes family and infant nutrition products. This organization invests heavily in new developments and collaborates with doctors, scientists, and local partners around the world to create products for people with different nutritional needs.

“Thanks to Attico's expertise and dedication, we now have unified customer profiles that provide consistent multi-channel experiences and personalized interactions with our customers. We're confident in our ability to protect our valuable customer data, thanks to the powerful security features that CIAM provides. And with Attico's help, we're able to demonstrate our commitment to data privacy and comply with regulatory requirements. We highly recommend Attico for any organization looking to streamline their customer identity and access management.”

Challenge

The client’s digital ecosystem has evolved organically into a collection of multiple applications, regional portals, and enterprise systems, each with its own authentication and user data model. This could cause the following business risks:

Identity fragmentation

Different systems with different logins didn’t allow the company to see the user as one person and manage their data and access properly.

Difficult systems integration

Various platforms use inconsistent technologies and login methods, making new product integration slow, complex, and expensive.

Security and breach risks

Outdated login solutions and weak security increased the risk of data breaches, account attacks, and loss of customer trust.

Regulation and compliance

User data spread across different systems made it hard to track consent, prove compliance, and provide a clear audit history during regulatory checks.

Lack of centralized access management

User roles and permissions were inconsistent across systems, and it became difficult to properly update or remove access during role changes or employee offboarding.

Our approach

Attico approached CIAM migration as a full analysis and redesign of the client’s existing data and identity ecosystem across Drupal, CIAM, CRM platforms such as Salesforce, and all intermediate integration layers.

Data landscape assessment

Our specialists analyzed the client’s current data and identity ecosystem across all systems, including Drupal, CIAM solutions, CRM platforms, middleware layers such as Salesforce, and other integration services that participate in user data processing.

Understanding the actual data flow architecture

We mapped how user data moved through the ecosystem: where it was created, where it was stored, and where it was consumed. In some cases, data was transferred directly into a CIAM solution or routed through intermediate systems like integration services.

Identifying integration and business limitations

Our team evaluated integrations with Salesforce and other services involved in user registration and data enrichment. Some systems were needed for features not available in Drupal or CIAM, such as cross-platform user mapping and marketplace integrations. Regulatory and business requirements were also considered, which might require data to be stored or accessed in specific systems, even if the endpoint is CIAM.

Designing the correct data routing model

We identified whether user data flowed directly from Drupal to CIAM, whether it passed through Salesforce or other middleware layers, or whether CIAM was only one part of a broader identity ecosystem. We also assessed whether post-CIAM data propagation was required and which systems depended on enriched identity data after onboarding.

Building the integration “bridge”

We designed an integration layer that connected all systems into a single user data flow. Our specialists defined what data was collected during registration, how it was transformed, and where additional identifiers were added. We expanded the registration model to meet system and regulatory requirements, ensuring the correct transfer of data through CIAM and further down the chain.

Validating end-to-end scenarios

Our team tested the full lifecycle of the user identity: from creation in the frontend, through intermediate processing layers, into CIAM, and further into connected platforms. This ensured that every system received the right data at the right time, and that the architecture supported both current business needs and future scalability without breaking existing flows.

Implementation highlights

Attico delivered a centralized CIAM-driven identity architecture that transformed a fragmented, multi-system enterprise identity into a unified, scalable, and governance-ready global infrastructure:

Migration of user registration and personal data to a centralized CIAM platform across global markets
Implementation of a unified identity layer across Drupal, CIAM, Salesforce, and middleware systems
Offloading identity and user data from Drupal to CIAM, reducing database footprint and improving performance
Compliant identity management aligned with global security and data governance requirements
Integration of CIAM with enterprise CRM and external platforms for cross-system identity management

Results

Attico’s team transformed a fragmented Drupal-based identity ecosystem into a centralized, scalable, and governance-ready CIAM architecture that improved security, reduced operational complexity, and enabled consistent user management across global markets.

Infrastructure and database maintenance costs

Business impact

Improved compliance readiness across regional markets and regulatory environments
Lower infrastructure and database maintenance costs through offloading user data storage from Drupal to CIAM
Simplified onboarding of new regional platforms and integrations

Reduction in fragmented customer identities

Marketing impact

More consistent customer data across regional platforms
Improved foundation for personalization and customer analytics
Better support for cross-platform customer journeys and campaigns
Reduced fragmentation of customer identities across markets

Platform scalability and maintainability

Technical impact

Centralized identity and personal data management across Drupal, CIAM, CRM, and middleware layers
Reduced Drupal database footprint through migration of user identity storage to CIAM
Improved scalability and maintainability of the global platform architecture
More controlled and auditable data propagation across connected enterprise systems

Tech insights

The solution was built on SAP Customer Data Cloud as an IDaaS platform with API-based identity services. This allowed Drupal websites and connected enterprise systems to consume centralized authentication, registration, consent management, and profile services without duplicating identity logic across platforms.

If you need Drupal-CIAM integration, Attico can help you build a secure and scalable architecture.

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