The project overview
The American Meteorological Society (AMS) connects scientists, students, professionals, and the public through trusted information on weather, water, and climate. That’s a big promise, and one that relies on a stable digital foundation. For Brian Mardirosian, Director of Digital Technology and Products, managing a site with more than 12,000 pages and dozens of editors isn’t just a technical challenge. It’s a question of trust. “If the CMS fails,” he says, “our scientific information might not reach the people who work with it.” It’s that challenge that led AMS to choose MASA CMS: a platform that could handle scale, stability, and simplicity in one.
Founded in 1919, AMS brings together professionals across the atmospheric, oceanic, and hydrologic sciences. Its work spans peer-reviewed journals, certifications, conferences, career development, and science-based policy. It reaches everyone from students and storm chasers to agricultural advisors and government agencies. In a sense, AMS is the connective tissue of the weather and climate ecosystem: a neutral platform where public, private, and academic stakeholders come together to advance science for society’s benefit.
That role puts particular pressure on its digital systems. “Our members don’t just consume information,” Brian explains. “They contribute to it. They publish papers, submit abstracts, check schedules, verify credentials, and reference past materials. The site isn’t just a billboard. It’s a workspace.”
From a one-person CMS to a scalable team solution
When Brian joined AMS as a web developer in the early 2000s, the website was a patchwork of over 12,000 static HTML pages. “No CMS, no version control. Just one person trying to keep everything running,” he recalls. The organization issued a call for proposals and landed on Mura CMS, then a ColdFusion-based platform praised for its flexibility and admin interface. For over a decade, it did the job well. “It was approachable,” says Brian. “We had dozens of web editors across departments, some who logged in once or twice a year. They needed something intuitive. Mura gave us that.” But as Mura evolved into a proprietary model with a more enterprise focus, AMS faced a familiar nonprofit dilemma: rising licensing costs and reduced control.
Why MASA CMS was the right next step
AMS needed a solution that matched their scale and structure: open-source, secure, intuitive for non-technical users, and powerful enough for a small internal team to manage multiple large websites. MASA CMS, a fork of Mura CMS initiated and maintained by Dutch digital partner We Are North, offered the continuity and flexibility they were looking for.
“Mura was becoming tough for us as a nonprofit. They started charging extra for things like security, and we didn’t want to go down that path,” Brian explains. “MASA gave us continuity with what we knew. It stayed open. It didn’t force extra costs for editors we might only need once or twice a year. And it focused on stability over gimmicks.” AMS took the decision seriously. “We gave it 18 months of testing,” Brian says. “We had a decade of experience on Mura. MASA needed to earn that trust, and it did. Nearly everything worked out of the box.”
Stability, usability, and a future-proof setup
Today, MASA CMS powers not just AMS’s main website but a portfolio of smaller project and event sites. Each with their own themes, content types, and permissions. Dozens of internal editors use the system, often with minimal training. “Most of our editors work in science or administration,” Brian says. “They’re not marketing pros or web designers. So the system has to work with them. In MASA, things just make sense. Enter the content, and it appears where it should. Content types are defined. Layouts are reusable. It’s easy to work with, so we get less IT helpdesk tickets.” “We don’t want a CMS that breaks because a plugin wasn’t updated,” he adds. “MASA’s core always works. And if we need customization, we can do it cleanly.” The system integrates smoothly with third-party tools, and manages internal access levels without per-user costs.
Preparing for MASA 7.5
AMS upgraded to MASA 7.5 in late February. The new version introduces a range of improvements, from better ColdFusion compatibility to upgraded security features and a smoother upgrade path through factory scripts. “Typically, we’re not in a rush to upgrade,” says Brian. “We prioritize stability and security over shiny features. And we already have workarounds in place for anything urgent.” Version 7.5 also brings support for Microsoft Entra SSO across multiple organizations, deprecates legacy session handling, and improves core plugins like sitemaps and translations. At the same time, ColdFusion remains a factor in AMS’s long-term thinking. While MASA now supports Adobe ColdFusion 2023 and is already looking ahead to 2025 and BoxLang, the platform’s reliance on CFML isn’t lost on Brian’s team. “We’re aware that it’s a smaller community,” he says. “That’s both a risk and an advantage. It’s leaner, but there are less choices. As long as security is being addressed and performance holds, we’re comfortable.”
A digital partnership based on long-term fit
AMS didn’t make the switch to MASA CMS alone. Throughout the process, they worked closely with Dutch-based digital partner We Are North, the creators and maintainers of MASA. Known for combining strategic thinking with hands-on technical support, We Are North provided exactly the kind of collaboration AMS was looking for.
From planning and upgrades to training and support, the relationship has remained close. “We’re a small digital team,” says Brian. “Having a partner that’s steady, thoughtful, and responsive made the move to MASA smoother. We weren’t looking for the latest trend. We wanted something that would hold up over time.”
Weather-proof technology
For AMS, the real measure of success isn’t what changes, it’s what doesn’t break. Their site serves a global community across dozens of professions. It needs to load fast, stay online, and make scientific content accessible to everyone from meteorologists to middle schoolers. MASA lets them do that without a tangle of third-party plugins or surprise bills. “We can focus on what matters: sharing science, supporting our members, and building trust,” says Brian. “The CMS isn’t the story. But it helps us tell all the others.”
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