Healthcare
Dr. Reddy’s 72-Site Enterprise Multisite: Launches, Support & Upgrades
The Challenge
Keeping 72 websites secure, current and stable on one shared codebase
Dr. Reddy's Laboratories is a global pharmaceutical company. Its digital estate spans 72 Drupal websites. Brand sites. Country sites. Portals for healthcare professionals (HCPs) with webinars, video libraries and gated logins.
All 72 run from one shared codebase on Acquia Cloud Site Factory. That keeps hosting and governance central. It also means every change reaches every site at once.
One module update can touch all sites. One faulty release can take a brand site offline in another country.
- One Composer file, one lock file and one set of patches serve all 72 sites. Every update needs regression testing across the full estate.
- Each Drupal major version has a fixed support window. Moving 72 sites from Drupal 9 to 10, then 10 to 11, had to happen while brand and HCP platforms stayed live.
- Older themes from a previous vendor use a Pattern Lab component structure. Newer themes follow standard Drupal conventions. Both ship in the same release.
- New brands and markets need launch-ready websites. Each one has to join the platform without fragmenting it.
The Solution
A governed multisite platform with one release train
Multisite architecture with central governance
All 72 sites share one codebase. Each site's identity lives in its own configuration.
- Separate configuration per site, managed through Site Factory hooks and Config Split
- One central console for launches, updates, backups and monitoring
- Sites grouped by brand, country and HCP audience
- Changes on one site stay on that site
Reusable building blocks for faster launches
| Reused asset | Example | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Design templates | Country sites share one country template | Consistent brand standards, faster launches |
| Features | Forms, video players, search, event listings | Proven features, fewer defects |
| Page building blocks | Banners, cards, carousels, testimonials | Marketing teams build pages without new development |
| Integrations | One Brightcove or Zoom integration serves many sites | One place to maintain, lower cost |
Similar sites share templates and features. Each keeps its own branding, content and language. Specbee has delivered 25–30 new sites this way in two years.
- One country template powers every country site
- Shared forms, video players, search and event listings
- Ready-made page blocks for marketing teams
- A four-step pattern takes each new site from setup to live
Release governance across all 72 sites
One release tag deploys to every site. Releases go out every Thursday after 8 PM IST, when traffic is low.
- Peer review and testing on a separate environment
- Client approval for each week's release
- Backups before deployment, smoke tests after
- Separate access for Dev, Test and Live
Drupal 9 → 10 → 11 upgrades at estate scale
Specbee upgraded the estate from Drupal 9 to 10, then 10 to 11. The Drupal 11 move covered all 72 sites in one coordinated deployment. Downtime was practically unnoticeable.
- Shared dependencies upgraded once for every site
- Regression testing across the full estate
- Legacy and modern themes upgraded together
Enterprise integrations for HCP engagement
HCP platforms such as DocVidya and MedEnrich carry the most integrations. Specbee keeps each one working through every release.
- Brightcove for video and Zoom for webinars
- DocCheck for verified doctor access
- Gupshup SMS OTP and SendGrid email
Managed services and platform care
A dedicated Specbee team keeps the platform secure and stable.
- Core and module updates, plus security patches
- Bug fixes and minor enhancements
- Stability monitoring across the estate
Why one platform for 72 sites
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| 72 standalone websites | 72 sites on one platform |
| Each site built from scratch | New sites start from proven templates |
| 72 sets of updates and security fixes | One update reaches every site |
| Design and quality vary by site | Consistent brand standards everywhere |
| Many vendors, tools and processes | One team, one process, one release cycle |
| Maintenance cost grows with every site | Shared cost that scales as sites are added |
Dr. Reddy's needs a strong web presence across many countries, brands and audiences. Building and maintaining 72 standalone websites would be slow, costly and hard to secure. A shared multisite platform changes the math.
Pharma and healthcare are familiar ground for Specbee. We work with HCG Hospitals and Aster Health in India, and with Altru Health System and Kingman Regional Medical Center in the US.
BACKGROUND
Two years ago, Specbee built one website for Dr. Reddy's. Today, Specbee builds, maintains and upgrades a 72-site Drupal estate.
Dr. Reddy's Laboratories is a global pharmaceutical company headquartered in Hyderabad, India. It develops, manufactures and distributes medicines for patients and healthcare professionals worldwide.
Our partnership with them grew one delivery at a time. It now covers three streams of work.
- New site delivery. Brand microsites, product sites and larger platforms, scoped and built end to end.
- Managed platform support. A dedicated team that keeps a large share of the estate secure, current and stable.
- Major version upgrades. Estate-wide moves from Drupal 9 to 10, and from 10 to 11.
KEY INSIGHT
On a shared codebase, every change is a platform change.
The Drupal 11 upgrade worked because the weekly release process was already disciplined. Backups, a single release tag, configuration imports and smoke tests run every Thursday. The upgrade used the same pipeline at a larger scale. That is how 72 sites moved in one deployment with downtime users never noticed.
The Results
All 72 Dr. Reddy's sites now run on Drupal 11.
They moved in one deployment, and the estate keeps shipping on a weekly cadence.
What changed for each audience:
- Business leaders: lower cost per new site, faster entry into new markets, and security fixes that reach all 72 sites at once.
- Marketing teams: consistent branding across countries, pages built from ready-made blocks without developer help, and predictable launch dates.
- Healthcare professionals: fast, current sites with verified doctor login and one-time-password access.
72
Sites on Drupal 11
1
Deployment for the full upgrade
25–30
New sites delivered
Weekly
Governed releases across the estate
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