In 2019, Information Systems & Technology (IST)Ìýissued aÌýrequest for proposal (RFP)Ìýfor a Platform-as-a-ServiceÌý(PaaS)Ìýenvironment to host theÌýUniversity’sÌýnextÌýgenerationÌýÀ¶Ý®ÊÓƵ Content Management System (WCMS)Ìý3.0 ecosystem.ÌýÌý
We are pleased to announce that, earlier this year, theÌýRFP wasÌýawarded toÌý. Pantheon is one of the largest cloud-basedÌýDrupal PaaS hostingÌýproviders andÌýhas a significant footprint in both Canadian and US Higher Education.ÌýAs WCMS 3.0 rolls out later this year, all newly createdÌýand migrated WCMS 3.0 sites will be hosted on theÌýPantheonÌýplatformÌýand data stored in their Canadian Data Centre.ÌýÌýÌý
This Platform-as-a-Service model gives theÌýUniversityÌýthe certainty of regular, continuous releases to the underlying technologies that run the WCMS, as well as enhancedÌýContinuous Integration tools that will help ISTÌýsignificantly reduce the time required to publish updates to the WCMS. This new modelÌýalsoÌýgivesÌýISTÌýthe ability toÌýdynamically scale website performanceÌýbased onÌýreal-timeÌýdemand, andÌýwithÌýPantheon’sÌýContent Distribution Network,Ìýperformance ofÌýWCMS-hostedÌýsites for international audiencesÌýwill be significantly enhanced.ÌýÌý