/ Intro
George Mason University, Virginia's largest public research institution, serves as a cornerstone of higher education with five campuses across Virginia and South Korea. As an R1 research institution particularly renowned for economics and law, GMU's digital presence needs to match its academic excellence. When they needed to transform their WordPress ecosystem from locally administered servers to a more manageable solution, they partnered with Materiell to create a scalable, efficient platform that could grow with their needs.
This collaboration delivered more than just hosting migration—it produced a comprehensive managed solution that has enabled GMU to expand its digital footprint from 250 to over 340 WordPress sites while maintaining consistent performance and security.
GMU needed to transform their extensive WordPress ecosystem of over 250 websites from locally administered servers to a more manageable solution. Their IT team spent increasing amounts of time managing and maintaining these sites, pulling resources away from other critical initiatives. They required a solution that could scale with their growth, maintain security standards appropriate for a major research institution, and provide consistent and reliable support across all departments and programs.
Materiell implemented a comprehensive site inventory and analysis process, working closely with stakeholders to understand specific departmental needs and workflows. Our team developed a strategic migration plan that ensured zero downtime during the transition to cloud-based hosting. We established custom permission structures to maintain appropriate access levels across different departments and implemented robust security protocols to protect sensitive academic data.
The new infrastructure transformed GMU's digital operations, successfully transitioning from local servers to a fully managed cloud solution. The platform's scalability has enabled growth from 250 to over 340 WordPress sites while maintaining consistent performance. The 24/7 support system has reduced the burden on internal IT resources, allowing them to focus on strategic initiatives rather than routine maintenance.